<div>As such stories can often be exaggerated as they are forwarded through email, I dug up the original Washington Post article. In this case there seems to be no exaggeration; and the original has an even more gradual, suspenseful build-up -- indeed, it won a Pulitzer Prize:</div>
<div><br></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html</a></div>
<div><br></div>Cheers,<div>Justin</div><div><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 8:05 AM, Denise Tennen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:denisetennen@comcast.net">denisetennen@comcast.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;"><div style="word-wrap:break-word">
This seems somehow relevant to the discussion about youth leaders.<div><br></div><div>Notice how many times it says the children noticed the violinist and wanted to linger...</div><div><br></div><div>Denise<br><div><br><blockquote type="cite">
<div><div><blockquote type="cite"><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><div><br><font color="#000000"><br></font><div><br></div><div>ITP (integral transformative practise as described by philosopher Ken Wilbur) works to understand useful patterns and find ways to incite others' interest but there are hurdles involved in expanding understanding and awareness (pick your definition).<br>
<div><br></div><div>Attached is a fascinating piece about lack of perception -- or the UN-willingness of anyone to perceive anything that doesn't immediately interest them. This is a key problem for ITP'ers for it demonstrates a blank area in everyone's responsiveness -- an intentional blank region we won't fill in <i><b>unless we are ready to change</b></i>.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Even then, if haste intervenes or our interest is focused elsewhere, we have little ability to attend to anything new -- anything truly different from what we think or assume. </div><div><br></div><div>
We are happy to reorganize 'facts' into more convenient patterns or add new factoids to our beliefs. </div><div><br></div><div>We are happy to believe in magic of various practical sorts -- but we block anything exceptionally different from our trains of thought for, even when we seek new scenery, our 'trains of thought' are truly on 'rails'.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Imagine the new scenery that the microscope and telescope have brought us -- but all they reveal is physical. With much of what we see, we still have no idea why some of it <i>happens. </i>The implications these devices bring offer new areas for speculation but, <i><b>first</b></i>, we must engage an emotional self if we are to give a damn about something outside our frame of reference -- <i>not just to expand that frame but to reconstruct it</i>. No one understands Relativity or Quantum Mechanics by 'expanding' <i>anything. They are different</i> from everything that went before -- so different in fact that even those who understand are still mystified.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Changing perception requires <b>adjusting intent</b> -- even for a moment<b>.</b> </div><div><br></div><div>There is nothing in a view-finder that can do that for us. </div><div><br></div><div>There is nothing we know that can tell us when, how or why to engage anything beyond our awareness. </div>
<div><br></div><div>Beyond our awareness are things we cannot recognize -- for they are not in our history.</div><div><br></div><div>We can still have access and many of them are both simple and beautiful.</div><div><br>
</div>
<div><br></div><div><u>Here's the piece:</u> </div><div><br></div><div><div style="font-family:Arial;font-size:16px"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px">
<b><font color="black" size="6"><span style="color:black;font-size:24pt;font-weight:bold">. . . Something To Think About . . .</span></font></b><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"></span></font><font color="black"><span style="color:black"></span></font></div>
</div><div><div><div style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;text-align:center"><font color="black" size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt"><br>
<img><b><span style="font-weight:bold"> </span></b></span></font><font color="black"><span style="color:black"></span></font></div><div style="margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;text-align:center">
<b><font color="black" size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold">THE SITUATION</span></font></b><font color="black" size="4"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt"><br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"><br></span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule. <br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"><br></span></font><b><font color="black" size="4"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold"><br>
</span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="4" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold">About 4 minutes later:</span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt;font-weight:bold"> </span></font></b><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"><br>
<br></span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"> <br></span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. <br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"><br> </span></font><b><font color="black" size="4"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold"><br>
</span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="4" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold">At 6 minutes:</span></font></b><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"> <br>
<br><br></span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. <br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"><br></span></font><b><font color="black" size="4"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold"><br>
</span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="4" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold">At 10 minutes:</span></font></b><font color="black" size="4"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt"><br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"><br></span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.<br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"><br></span></font><b><font color="black" size="4"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold"><br>
</span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="4" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold">At 45 minutes:</span></font></b><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"><br>
<br><br></span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.<br>
</span></font><b><font color="black" size="4"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold"><br></span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="4" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:13.5pt;font-weight:bold">After 1 hour:</span></font></b><font color="black" size="4"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt"><br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"><br></span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all</span></font><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt">.</span></font><font color="black" size="4"><span style="color:black;font-size:13.5pt"><br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"><br></span></font><font color="black" size="1" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:7.5pt"> </span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">No one knew this, but the violinist was</span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"> </span></font><b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold">Joshua Bell</span></font></b><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt">, </span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold</span></font><font color="#1f497d" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:rgb(31, 73, 125);font-size:10pt">-</span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">out a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.<br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"><br><br></span></font><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about <b><span style="font-weight:bold">perception, taste and people's priorities</span></b>. <br>
</span></font><b><font color="black" size="5"><span style="color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold"><br></span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold">This experiment raised several questions:</span></font></b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt"> </span></font><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"><br>
<br></span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"> </span></font><b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold">*</span></font></b><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?</span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"> <br>
<br> </span></font><b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold">*</span></font></b><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">If so, do we stop to appreciate it? <br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"><br> </span></font><b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold">*</span></font></b><font color="black" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black">Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?<br>
</span></font><font color="black" size="2" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:10pt"><br></span></font><b><font color="black" size="5"><span style="color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold"><br>
</span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold">One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:</span></font></b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt"> </span></font><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"><br>
</span></font><b><font color="black" size="5"><span style="color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold"><br></span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold">If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .</span></font></b><font color="black" size="2"><span style="color:black;font-size:10pt"> <br>
</span></font><b><font color="black" size="5"><span style="color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold"><br></span></font></b><b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold">How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?</span></font></b><font color="black"><span style="color:black"></span></font></div>
</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><b><font color="black" size="5" face="Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-family:'Comic Sans MS';color:black;font-size:18pt;font-weight:bold"><br>
</span></font></b></div></div><div style="font-family:Arial;font-size:16px"></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br></div></blockquote></div><br></div></div>*
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