Pearls Before Breakfast (2007)

You can see this guy at the Met for what, $200? Could I pay you $200 to be an hour late for work? (Maybe I could - the HN crowd of startuppy professionals often doesn&#x27;t have to be in on time - but not the kind of people who were listening in the article).<p>I wonder what would&#x27;ve happened if they&#x27;d done it in the evening rush hour rather than the morning one.

This was a delightful article, that provided a real window in human behavior and perception. Such fun!<p>I am reminded of a story that I am unable to locate, about a violinist who composed works and passed them off as more obscure classical music by big names (Mozart, Bach and similar). He liked composing music in the style, but he couldn&#x27;t get people interested in the pieces. By passing them off as more obscure famous works from the period, people would listen to them, and respond favorably. A very similar problem, from a different perspective.<p>If anyone recalls the article or names, I would appreciate a link.

Gene Weingarten is an amazing writer. He won a Pulitzer for this article in 2008. He won one other Pulitzer in 2010, for his (very harrowing) article about parents who forget their children in the back seat of their car.<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022701549.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.washingtonpost.com&#x2F;wp-dyn&#x2F;content&#x2F;article&#x2F;2009&#x2F;02...</a>

I wonder what would happen in a similar experiment where a large sign makes it clear how high-status the violinist is. Would people be persuaded to stop, or are the passers-by in a Metro station naturally going to be too busy and hurried to take in a performance?

I assure Beyoncé would have drawn a crowd.