I'm surprised that people are surprised. Indeed, the outcome seemed so obvious to me that I'm surprised that anyone bothered to set up the test. Then again I once was a metro musician, so perhaps I have "forbidden knowledge."
First, most people can't tell stupendous playing for good playing (especially of classical music). Second, people are on their way to work. Most are on the verge of being late. They wouldn't stop for a bleeding man lying on the ground, much less a good violinist. Third, even exquisite beauty takes time to do its work. As I've said in the articles and reviews I have written on the golden section -- showing someone an example of "beauty" for a few seconds and then asking them to "rate" it doesn't allow the aesthetic process the time it needs. You will always gett null results. That's why we build museums and concert halls for the best art, instead of putting it places where people typically rush by, like subway stations. They give us the time and space to look, listen, consider, reflect. Regards, Chris Green --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
