At the 34th Street station, waiting for a train on the downtown platform, I’m staring across the tracks at the other side and I notice a woman pulling her hand out of her pocket as the train arrives. Something falls to the ground, but she doesn’t notice; she’s already boarding the departing train. I strain to see what the object is – a small, folded piece of paper. It’s not close enough to be certain, but the color suggests money. How long will it take for someone to notice and pick it up? An apparently homeless man has been pacing back and forth, but now he’s stationed next to his pile of bags on a bench nearby; he doesn’t seem to be making any movements in the direction of the abandoned bill. A group of noisy students passes, nearly stepping on the bill – none of them notice. Then a slow trickle of people file by, each wrapped up in his/her own world, seemingly oblivious to the ground. Given the lack of interest I’m starting to think that perhaps my eyes have deceived me and the folded paper is nothing but a receipt or a piece of wrapping. Then a group of four sixty-somethings approaches. They’re walking slowly; surely, I think, they will notice the bill if it is in fact money. And indeed: the man who’s walking in the lead seems to break his step when he comes to the bill. He points it out to the other members of the group and says something… they keep walking! The bill, now more or less confirmed to be money, is literally beneath them! Then, finally, a few seconds later, a man walking at a brisk pace swoops down and snatches the bill from the ground. He doesn’t so much as look left or right, simply continues on his way and catches his train.