Stop and Smell the Roses

“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?”-Benjamin Franklin

Snopes.com describes a social experiment conducted by the Washington Post newspaper. On a cold morning of January 12, 2007, thousands of commuters of the L’Enfant Plaza subway station passed a non-descript man playing a violin for tips. He played for 45 minutes and collected $32.17 from 27 people. Only seven people stopped and listened for a while.

What the commuters did not know what that this incognito “beggar” was really Joshua Bell, a world famous violinist. The violin he played is worth 3.5 million dollars. The pieces he played were some of the most difficult ever written for violin.

And yet only seven people stopped to listen. Only one person recognized him.

Other studies have also shown that we perceive what we except to perceive. In one study the same wine was offered free to restaurant customers if they promised to evaluate it. To half the diners the wine was given a fancy labeled from a Napa Valley winery. The other half saw a label from a local “unknown” winery. The participants rated the wine with the “famous” label quite favorably; the “unknown” label received lower ratings.

In another taste test, blindfolded official wine tasters rated some $10 bottles high while giving low marks to $100 bottles. When the blindfolds came off the officials were shocked and insisted that there must be some mistake or trick. “Everyone knows” the pricier bottles are better.

Bottom Line

Are you too busy to stop and appreciate beauty in life? Are you blinded by expectations and oblivious to many of life’s wonders? Would you “recognize the talent in an unexpected context?”