In Washington DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 
2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. 
During that time, approximately 2000 people went through the station, 
most of them on their way to work.


After about four minutes,

A middle-aged man noticed that there was a 
musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, 
and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.


About four minutes later,

The violinist received his first dollar. A 
woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.


At six minutes,

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, 
then looked at his watch and started to walk again.


At ten minutes,

A three-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged 
him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, 
but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning 
his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other 
children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children 
to move on quickly.


At forty-five minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only six 
people stopped and listened for a short while. About twenty gave money 
but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total 
of $32.


After one hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one 
applauded. There was no recognition at all.


No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the 
greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate 
pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two 
days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats 
averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.


This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro 
Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social 
experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.


This experiment raised several questions:


In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we 
perceive beauty?


If so, do we stop to appreciate it?


If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made,


How many other things are we missing?