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Showing posts from May, 2010
It's been a long time since I've written a lengthy post. For the last few weeks, all my most profound revelations have come in brevity. Therefore, until further notice, I will be posting in the manner of aphorisms, perhaps with occasional commentary. Starting with this one: "I will die before I let life curl me up into the fetal position."
Today was a completely normal day. And my life was forever changed.

Value, Beauty, and Perception

Three years ago, a world-renowned violinist named Joshua Bell dressed himself in nondescript clothing, took his 3.5 million dollar violin to a crowded Washington D.C. subway, and started playing as if he were a talented panhandler. After forty-five minutes he had performed 6 classical pieces in front of just over 1000 morning commuters and collected 32 dollars for his work. You can read the entire article here . Some of the points in the article really grated me because here in one place are so many things that I completely disagree with in the topics of beauty, art, and music. I've seen this article mentioned on occasion in my internet wanderings since the social experiment, and it is often cited to criticize common people for not recognizing beauty in the world. And then depending on what part of the human condition is your hobby horse, you're going to want to mention something about how we move along too quickly in life or how we're not attentive enough to our surroundin