Would Ordinary People Recognize Genius? An Experiment.. Posted: 2 months ago by cb__
No one knew it, but the fiddler standing against a bare wall outside the D.C. Metro in an indoor arcade at the top of the escalators 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.
Comments: 14 Score: [-] 331 [+].
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Posted: 2 months ago by psycmoe:
I found this interesting on many levels. Thanks for the article!
Score: [-] 30 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by cb__:
Thanks, psycmoe! I just wish it were a quicker read, I'm afraid the length might turn most people off.
(edit to say that^ includes me, due to either time constraints or random shiny things.. Bookmarking works for me too.)
Score: [-] 40 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by nikneven:
« cb__ : Thanks, psycmoe! I just wish it were a quicker read, I'm afraid the length might turn most people off. That speaks volumes, and almost coincides with the point of the article. F-ing brilliant find!
Score: [-] 68 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by psycmoe:
« nikneven : That speaks volumes, and almost coincides with the point of the article. F-ing brilliant find! Yes. Tl;dr should never, never be an excuse. If I do find something that will take more time than I'm willing or able to commit at a moment, I just bookmark the thing for later.
Score: [-] 42 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by bluenutria:
I read about this last year when they did this "experiment." I heard it referenced in a sermon somewhere.
Cool story. I think I would listen. Mostly because I'm not a city slicker and don't like rushing.
Score: [-] 51 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by gammerus:
I don't think I would recognize it as great music. Of course I am just not a music person, I do not really understand why some music deserves to be more highly regarded than any other piece.
Edit: but I would probably have given him money for playing well.
Score: [-] 31 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by Hypermdavis:
I commute to DC every morning via Metro and I put my headphones in and just go...not really paying any attention to much till I get to work. I think I would notice some people though, maybe Jeff Buckley or Nick Cave...don't listen to much classical stuff so...
Score: [-] 19 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by smarty1052:
It wasn't even 8am.. I would've been annoyed if I was walkin to work and heard this loud instrument ringing in my ears.. maybe they should've tried it again at 4 or 5 and see if anyone slowed down then since they weren't rushing to work.. If they were giving away free steaks some people still wouldn't have stopped
Score: [-] 19 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by vexingmodstwo:
Thanks for this article. Growing up in NYC (and now living in the DC area), I've always thought about the "What if?". What if that guy playing the guitar (or in this case a violin) was really famous and just playing for the sake of playing? Would I be able to tell the professional musician from the homeless guy, with obvious talent, looking to make a few bucks?
You never friggin' know.
Score: [-] 42 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by tragluk:
Some of it needs to be considered in terms of percentages. Nobody was going to their bank account and drawing money out of the ATM to pay for him in this case..
If I have $10 for lunch, and I give him $2. It isn't hat I've given him "JUST TWO DOLLARS" it's that I've given him 20% of my entire budget when I could have just walked past. Those who gave a penny actually took a moment to give, it's not the amount, it's the recognition. They saw him. They put in a token to show appreciation.
I would have stayed for a few minutes, I would have clapped, I've done it before with less talented musicians. Honestly, the money isn't the highmark, it's the recognition that someone is listening and someone appreciates the music.
There is alot of context here as well to be considered. If I had a guy chattering on his celllphone, and someone else talking about their 'budget meeting' while I was trying to listen to Bell I'd have a harder time appreciating the subtleness in which he played.
...
My question though..
How much plainclothes security did they give this guy and his violin? I mean, this IS D.C.
Score: [-] 41 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by theclansman:
great find! I live in Nelson and their are always street performers, I quite often stop and listen for a little while. This guy was really talented and I definitely would have stopped and given him some money.
Also, I have went to an ATM to get money for a street performer. There was this french family of five each playing a different instrument, with little like 6 year old kids playing and it sounded just amazing (plus the kids cuteness helped).
Score: [-] 19 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by kirbykirst:
I really enjoyed this! It was a really good read. Thanks for posting.
It really makes you think about the general state of life that we have. So much rush and so little attention to what's going on around us. Being from a small place I don't really have as much experience with street musicians. I do know that I forgot to appreciate how beautiful my campus is the majority of times that I walked to class this year.
Again, very interesting. I hardly noticed the length of the article because I was so in to it.
Score: [-] 19 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by cb__:
Thanks for a great bunch of comments, everyone! I really enjoyed the feedback, glad you enjoyed the story as much as I did.
Score: [-] 21 [+].
Posted: 2 months ago by D²:
I found this article very well written. I liked that fact that it was written at length, the authors (as nikneven alludes to) took the time to craft a story suiting of the context. The fact that the article contains one of my favorite musicians not withstanding, I thought the "stop and smell the roses" premise was poingnant and to the mark. I like to hope that I would have noticed and stopped, but...
Thank you, cb, for finding the story and for letting me know about it!
Score: [-] 19 [+].
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