Do you recognize beauty?

I read a really interesting article this morning about a social experiment which took place several years ago in a Washington metro station.

Joshua Bell, one of the worlds most talented violinist went incognito for 45 minutes as he played his 3.5 million dollar Stradivari in the lobby. Though he plays in sold out music halls and commands so much respect that people won't cough or adjust in their seats when he plays, in the metro station lobby, nobody hardly even notices him or stops to listen to his music. The experiment asks if people will recognize true beauty and comprehend what they see and hear around them when it's provided to them completely out of normal context.

You wouldn't throw a few pennies on stage at a Joshua Bell concert, but in the station, he earned a whopping $34.17, and only one person recognized who he was. Only a small handful of people stopped to listen to this amazing performer and understood that they were witnessing something truly unique and special.

Are you paying attention? Do you recognize the exceptional when it's right in front of you disguised as something ordinary? Look around today, you might be surprised.

See the video here:



The article can be read here: (wonderfully written!)