Do We Appreciate The World Around Us Any More?

[SilentBob]

http://www.boncherry.com/blog/tag/joshua-bell-subway/ A "study" done by the Washington Post, a great read really

[SuburbanSmoker]

Thats actually very interesting and absolutely ridiculous that they got JB to agree(which is so sick). i think the article goes to show that people of todays world just pack everything they possibly can into every minute of the day and dont have time to stop and "smell the roses".

[Karot]

I think its kind of an odd thing to conclude from that "study." Considering subways are a place for transportation, getting from one place to another at a precise time. Most people don't go there to sit around. If he had done the same thing in a different place, such as a public park, I think the results would have been dramatically different. Yes people do stop to smell the roses, otherwise he couldnt've played a sold out theatre. Its just that people schedule in time to appreciate things rather than stopping everything to do so. Edited March 15, 2009 by Karot

[soldier92]

This is a great article. I completely agree that the vast majority of people don't see the value of life. It is amazing that people are so pretentious as to spend 100s of dollars to sea a musician at a concert hall but cannot stop for a few moments to hear him in a subway. Good post.

[Rani]

I think its kind of an odd thing to conclude from that "study." Considering subways are a place for transportation, getting from one place to another at a precise time. Most people don't go there to sit around. If he had done the same thing in a different place, such as a public park, I think the results would have been dramatically different. Yes people do stop to smell the roses, otherwise he couldnt've played a sold out theatre. Its just that people schedule in time to appreciate things rather than stopping everything to do so.

A very valid point. I've seen opposite reactions in places like Sea Port Village in San Diego where musicians, some of them fairly well known, still sit out along the sea wall and play. People stop, listen, applaud, donate money, and get their business cards to book future gigs. I think the choice of a subway terminal made the result of the experiement a foregone conclusion.

'Rani

[Sonthert]

Yeah, San Diego operates at a slightly different speed than the East Coast, thats why I always say I'll always live in San Diego, because people do smell the flowers here. We talk to homeless people and strangers here, too. We let people enter in traffic. Somebody from out of town who looks confused, we see if they need help. We say hello to people walking by. People in El Cerrito (A San Diego community) wave to each other when we drive by each other on the side streets. Most of us. That nasty Los Angeles mentality keeps trying to move in, but we are resisting. At the same time, if someone is being a douche, we tell them to fuck off, I've personally followed people for a mile to tell them what I thought of their attitude when driving. I admit, I am a little over the top even for San Diego standards. San Diego is where the hospitable South meets the liberal west. With lots of good Mexican food to eat.

That being said, I think the article might be a comment on other cities, but not all cities are the same. Los Angeles is very different than Santa Ana or San Diego or San Fransisco for that matter.

Edit: we also don't have a subway...who would want to be underground in San Diego?

[Voski]

The article even says people would stop look at the time and then leave because they had to go. All this article is saying that most people in a subway don't have time to spare. It would have been interesting if someone tried to steal his super expensive violin.

[erufiku]

I appreciate it well enough after a few pints

[Rani]

Yeah, San Diego operates at a slightly different speed than the East Coast, thats why I always say I'll always live in San Diego, because people do smell the flowers here. We talk to homeless people and strangers here, too. We let people enter in traffic. Somebody from out of town who looks confused, we see if they need help. We say hello to people walking by. People in El Cerrito (A San Diego community) wave to each other when we drive by each other on the side streets. Most of us. That nasty Los Angeles mentality keeps trying to move in, but we are resisting. At the same time, if someone is being a douche, we tell them to fuck off, I've personally followed people for a mile to tell them what I thought of their attitude when driving. I admit, I am a little over the top even for San Diego standards. San Diego is where the hospitable South meets the liberal west. With lots of good Mexican food to eat.

That being said, I think the article might be a comment on other cities, but not all cities are the same. Los Angeles is very different than Santa Ana or San Diego or San Fransisco for that matter.

Edit: we also don't have a subway...who would want to be underground in San Diego?

San Diegans like to call it "God's Country". And while I don't necessarily believe God has anything to do with it, San Diego is my favorite California city because of everything you just mentioned and more. I've always said if I could find work there, I'd move there in a heartbeat.

'Rani

[An1m]

This is a great article. I completely agree that the vast majority of people don't see the value of life. It is amazing that people are so pretentious as to spend 100s of dollars to sea a musician at a concert hall but cannot stop for a few moments to hear him in a subway. Good post.

There is no objective value of life. That said, one can only reasonably conclude from this social experiment that most people in a subway during rush hour don't have time to listen to anyone playing music in a SubWay. I personally have stopped countless times in NYC to hear and donate to nameless musicians who are just trying to make it. Furthermore violin solos aren't everyone's cup o' tea. If the Dillinger Escape Plan had been playing I would have stayed for the entire set.

Also what would make you think that the "pretentious" people who shell out 200 bucks to see a violinist are the working stiffs that ride metros to and from work during rush hour?

[anoddmind]

People hear what they see. Take Hank Williams the III for example: a (predominantly) country band who's members look more punkrock/metalhead in comparison to your typical country act. and a live show often feels more like a rock concert because of this (this might be a bad example, but it's the best I've got.) So even though you might hear "violin prodigy extraordinaire", you see a beggar. I would think that a certain level of avoidance also comes into play here. Where I am from, mass transit locations tend to be somewhat of a safe haven for beggars. you can't walk by transit center in downtown Tampa without a crackhead or bum panhandling you for a dollar or a cigarette . So people often walk buy keeping their eyes to themselves and acting like they are in a big hurry just to avoid shelling out a buck to someone. when you preform a study of this type, in a location of this nature, people are more likely to hold L and R to anything that would make them stop. I would like to see the same study done outside of a busy take out diner around lunch time, where people are still in a hurry, but would also be less inhibited by the "just another person who want's my dollar" factor.

[anoddmind]

People hear what they see. Take Hank Williams the III for example: a (predominantly) country band who's members look more punkrock/metalhead in comparison to your typical country act. and a live show often feels more like a rock concert because of this (this might be a bad example, but it's the best I've got.) So even though you might hear "violin prodigy extraordinaire", you see a beggar. I would think that a certain level of avoidance also comes into play here. Where I am from, mass transit locations tend to be somewhat of a safe haven for beggars. you can't walk by transit center in downtown Tampa without a crackhead or bum panhandling you for a dollar or a cigarette . So people often walk buy keeping their eyes to themselves and acting like they are in a big hurry just to avoid shelling out a buck to someone. when you preform a study of this type, in a location of this nature, people are more likely to hold L and R to anything that would make them stop. I would like to see the same study done outside of a busy take out diner around lunch time, where people are still in a hurry, but would also be less inhibited by the "just another person who want's my dol

[anoddmind]

People hear what they see. Take Hank Williams the III for example: a (predominantly) country band who's members look more punkrock/metalhead in comparison to your typical country act. and a live show often feels more like a rock concert because of this (this might be a bad example, but it's the best I've got.) So even though you might hear "violin prodigy extraordinaire", you see a beggar. I would think that a certain level of avoidance also comes into play here. Where I am from, mass transit locations tend to be somewhat of a safe haven for beggars. you can't walk by transit center in downtown Tampa without a crackhead or bum panhandling you for a dollar or a cigarette . So people often walk buy keeping their eyes to themselves and acting like they are in a big hurry just to avoid shelling out a buck to someone. when you preform a study of this type, in a location of this nature, people are more likely to hold L and R to anything that would make them stop. I would like to see the same study done outside of a busy take out diner around lunch time, where people are still in a hurry, but would also be less inhibited by the "just another person who want's my dol

[ilikemyusername]

no