The Washington Post
featured a long article by Gene Weingarten, describing how a violinist played
during the rush hour in front of one of the main Metro stations in Washington,
D.C.
As Weingarten puts it, “the fiddler…was one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made.”
His name is Joshua Bell. He was playing a Stradivarius for which he paid a reported $3.5 million.
It was arranged by the Washington Post “as an experiment in context, perception and priorities.”
What do you think happened? In that 45 minutes, how many people stopped to watch and listen? How many gave any money? How much did he get?
Seven stopped and listened. Twenty-seven gave money. The total was $32 and change.
OK, so many of those people passing wouldn’t be fans of classical music. But thousands went by, so we have to assume that at least a couple hundred liked classical music. But it was morning, they were on the way to work and anyway, a guy playing for change at a Metro station can’t really be any good, can he? I’m betting at least a few of the people who went by had spent $100 to hear Bell play at Carnegie Hall.
It’s a powerful demonstration of how our expectations colour our perceptions. It’s the same reason why a script or manuscript gets rejected when you’re a nobody but is considered great once you have a name.
More proof? When he started out, Banksy was one more graffiti artist violating local laws. Now the same spray paint art sells for millions and the art establishment proclaims him a genius. The art (or “art” ) didn’t change.
I think the trick is not to buy into other people’s perceptions. Not when they think your work is worthless because you’re a nobody…and not when they think it’s great because you are a somebody.
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