Miscellaneous

What if you could listen to a free 43-minute concert by one of the world?s greatest violinists, playing some of the most beautiful music ever, written on an instrument worth $3.5 million? About a year ago, 1,097 people in a Washington DC metro station had that opportunity. The violinist was Joshua Bell. But perhaps because of the setting, and because the violinist looked no different from any street musician, 1,090 of the 1,097 walked by without even stopping to listen. A few who walked by dropped a tip in the musician?s open violin case?$32 in tips for a guy who usually makes $1,000/hour playing in $100/seat concert halls. More astounding than the $32 in tips: the zero applause.

Hat tip to my colleague Martin Stern.