Feb 4, 2009
You value what other people value
Value attribution: Tendency to imbue someone or something with certain qualities based on perceived value instead of objective data.
It’s a cold, brisk January morning. You’re in Washington, D.C. heading off to work. You get off the bus and enter the subway station. As you jostle your way through the morning rush hour traffic, you hear the sweet sounds of Bach’s Sonatas (one of the toughest pieces to play). A quick glance shows a man in jeans and a baseball cap playing with his violin case open. Passerbys drop pennies and dimes. You even notice someone dropped a generous $10 bill.
The man is obviously nothing more than a street performer trying to make his way in the world.
Except he’s not.
That’s Joshua Bell. He’s a world-class violinist. The Washington Post managed to convince him to act as a street magician for 45 minutes as a part of a study.
Out of 1097 people that walked past, only 1 realized who he was and 7 stopped to enjoy his music.
You see, the early morning subway goers attributed Bell’s value to his appearance. He didn’t look like a world class performer. Instead of hearing a really cool concert, they just heard normal, ordinary street music. Since other people walked by without giving him a second look, others around him did the same.
Bell went virtually unrecognized. But he did make 32 bucks and some change.
(“Pearls Before Breakfast,” Washington Post, April 8, 2007, p. W10)