I wanted to test the anonymity in the public realm by saying hello to everybody I passed. Just saying hello, not asking a question because the people themselves had to start the conversation if they wanted. This action made me feel like an idiot because most people ignored me or looked very strange at me. I was expecting this because I broke the rules of behavior in the public space. Some people started a conversation with me which was the purpose and the outcome of my experiment. The most conversations were about the Jews and African Americans in Crown Heights. The most interesting outcome is the telephone number of a Crown Heights newspaper editor who is the son of a Rabbi I spoke with. The Rabbi said I could call his son anytime for articles and other information about Crown Heights. This telephone number is the outcome of my experiment (and available on request).
