Pearls before sheep
Frank points to this article Pearls before breakfast.
It was really an amazing social experiment. What would happen if you took possibly the greatest performing today, , and put him, incognito, into a public venue like a mall and had him perform as a “common” ? Would anyone stop and listen, how many> how many would throw coins in his case? Would anyone recognize him? Would those that stop and listen be from any particular ethnic or social class? The results of this experiment floored everyone, including the experts who were consulted in advance.
I’ll pause here so you can go read this fascinating article
Interesting wasn’t it! The reporter covered a lot of ground but missed something. Society as it is today in North America is designed, whether by fortune or by deliberation, to turn out sheep. That’s the purpose of the , be it public or private. On the public side it’s designed to turn out nice uncomplaining complacent workers for the and, for the most part it succeeds. On the private side it’s designed to turn out “leaders” who all think the same within certain set parameters. Same thing, different suit.
I’m not surprised that the vast majority walked on by. I think their experiment might have had different results had they not timed it for just before people hat to start their government jobs. Had they set it for after work I suspect that more would have stopped to listen. But, that’s the point of the experiment then isn’t it. To see if you could drag people away from their single mined ovine purpose, get to work, don’t be late, don’t lose that awful, tedious, boring , superficial job that pays the bills. Don’t anger the corporate masters.
The numbing of the populace has certainly been successful, how else to explain the mind numbing acquiescence of the majority to the like of Bush and his cabal of cronies and Pat Robertson Law School appointees? Made all the more embarrassing and sad by the fact that so many of those numbed were flower children of the 60s and 70s, people who should have escaped the numbness but were nevertheless trapped by it in the end. Novocaine for the soul, mammon.
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
– from “Leisure,” by W.H. Davies
Indeed. The big thing in web 2.0 these days is presence. We’re all so busy getting linked in and twittering and IM’ing and, podcasting, and iPodding, and you name it that we are zoned out to what is actually going on around us. Too busy to pay attention. What a shame. No wonder up eh?
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Comments
Comment from The Dynamic Driveler
Time: April 17, 2007, 6:47 am
While she has a point Michelle she really missed the point of the experiment.The point wasn’t to see if the public could tell a world famous musician posing as a busker from a regular busker. The point was to see if the public would see beauty in their presence despite being in the usual hustle and bustle of their daily lives. To that end the WP went to great lengths to not use any “tricks” to engage the audience, including Bell not selecting pieces that would be commonly known except to afficionados of classical music.
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Comment from Michelle
Time: April 17, 2007, 2:22 am
There is a different response to the Joshua Bell article by a NYC subway musician in her blog.
The WAPO seemed to be putting the blame on the passers by. She interprets the situation differently from the Washington Post reporters… I thought you might find it interesting.