Implications of the Experiment on Beauty
In the last couple of weeks, an article that appeared in The Washington Post has been causing quite a stir both on the streets of Washington D.C. and in the blogosphere. Almost every blog that I regularly visit had the article linked with some comments. For those who have not had a chance to read the article, I highly recommend it. It is not only a fascinating experiment, but extremely well written.
The article takes the reader through an experiment that the newspaper conducted in a Washington D.C. subway. They wanted to know if, when confronted with beauty in an out of the ordinary place, people would recognize and appreciate that beauty. They arranged for violinist virtuoso Joshua Bell to play incognito in the subway during the morning rush. The results are fascinating.
For some reason, this article touched my emotions. I was mad, sad, happy, appreciative of Bell’s talents, and a host of other emotions all rolled into one. I am still not certain why it touched me in that way, but I have some ideas.
I found several theological implications in the piece that may have elicited my emotional response. I just want to discuss one and let you read the rest. The article describes person after person walking by, not noticing or paying any attention to the music. Until the camera catches a small child trying to stop as his mother pulls him toward the exit. The author says that the children always tried to stop, but the adults never let them. Children recognize beauty. Joshua Bell is a fantastic violinist, but his art is nowhere close to that of God. How often do I go through a day without noticing the beauty around me that God has created?
The article takes the reader through an experiment that the newspaper conducted in a Washington D.C. subway. They wanted to know if, when confronted with beauty in an out of the ordinary place, people would recognize and appreciate that beauty. They arranged for violinist virtuoso Joshua Bell to play incognito in the subway during the morning rush. The results are fascinating.
For some reason, this article touched my emotions. I was mad, sad, happy, appreciative of Bell’s talents, and a host of other emotions all rolled into one. I am still not certain why it touched me in that way, but I have some ideas.
I found several theological implications in the piece that may have elicited my emotional response. I just want to discuss one and let you read the rest. The article describes person after person walking by, not noticing or paying any attention to the music. Until the camera catches a small child trying to stop as his mother pulls him toward the exit. The author says that the children always tried to stop, but the adults never let them. Children recognize beauty. Joshua Bell is a fantastic violinist, but his art is nowhere close to that of God. How often do I go through a day without noticing the beauty around me that God has created?
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