From the article:
...organized by the Washington Post as part of a 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?

Doesn't really seem like a fair experiment, does it? They picked a spot where 99.9% of the passersby are on a schedule; DC Metro isn't going to wait for the busker to take a break, right. How about picking a spot where a lot of people gather but are not necessarily running to get somewhere, maybe a park where business people take their lunch, a shopping mall, or whatever.

------------------
Wm. David McMahan
LearnMyKeyboard
JazzItUp Band
The Modulators