Washington DC  Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. He played six Bach  pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand   people went through the station, most of them on their way to  work.  After 3 mins a middle aged man noticed there was a musician  playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then  hurried to meet his schedule. 4 mins later the violinist  received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and,  without stopping, continued to walk. 6 minutes, a young man  leaned against the wall to listen to him, then  looked at his watch  and started to walk again. 10 mins:  a 3 year old boy  stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to  look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child  continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was  repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception,  forced them to move on. 45 minutes; the musician played.   Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him  money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.   1 hour; he finished playing and silence took over.  No one  noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition. No one  knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best 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 out a  theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100. This is a real  story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized  by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception,  taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place  environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop  to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?   One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:   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 .... how many other things  are we missing?