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Serendipity

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(Redirected fromSerendipitous)
For other uses, seeSerendipity (disambiguation).
"Happy accident" redirects here. For other uses, seeHappy Accidents.
Horace Walpole
byJoshua Reynolds
Robert K. Merton 1965

Serendipityis an unplanned fortunate discovery.[1]In 1754Horace Walpolecoined the word and described an amazing discovery as being “of that kind which I call Serendipity”.Robert K. Mertonfirst came upon the concept-and-term of serendipity in the 1930s in the Oxford English Dictionary. Here, he discovered that the word had been coined by Walpole. Merton revealed 1946 his concept of the “serendipity pattern” in empirical research, of observing an unanticipated, anomalous, and strategic datum, which becomes the occasion for developing a new theory.[2]Merton describes it later as „the discovery through chance by a theoretically prepared mind of valid findings which were not sought for “[3][4]

Christian Buschviews serendipity as "active luck," where chance encounters and human action come together. Unlike passive luck, such as being born into a privileged family, serendipity emerges when individuals actively engage with unexpected events. A missed flight or a casual walk in the park can lead to new friendships, interests, or even career opportunities. It is about seeing what others do not see, consciously recognising random observations and transforming them into opportunities.[5][6]

The concept is often associated with scientific and technological breakthroughs, where accidental discoveries led to new insights or inventions. For example, many significant discoveries in history, such as penicillin, Post-it notes, Viagra, or the microwave, arose from unforeseen circumstances that were then recognized and capitalized upon.[7][8][9]

While in popular usage often understood as a matter of pure chance, scientific discussions emphasize the crucial role of human agency—recognizing, interpreting, and acting upon unexpected opportunities. This interaction between chance and conscious action has been a key theme in areas such as creativity, leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship[6][10][11]

Etymology

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The first noted use of "serendipity" was byHorace Walpoleon 28 January 1754. In a letter he wrote to his friendHorace Mann,Walpole explained an unexpected discovery he had made about alost paintingofBianca CappellobyGiorgio Vasari[12]by reference to a Persian fairy tale,The Three Princes of Serendip.The princes, he told his correspondent, were "always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of."[13]The name comes fromSerendip,an old Persian name forSri Lanka(Ceylon), henceSarandibby Arab traders.[14]It is derived from the SanskritSiṃhaladvīpaḥ(Siṃhalaḥ, Sinhalese + dvīpaḥ, island).[15]

The word has been exported into many other languages, with the general meaning of "unexpected discovery" or "fortunate chance".[16][17]

Applications

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Inventions

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Serendipitous inventions
Post-It Note
Velcro
Silly Putty
Popsicle
Penicillin

The term "serendipity" is often applied to inventions made by chance rather than intent. Andrew Smith, editor ofTheOxford Companion to American Food and Drink,has speculated that most everyday products had serendipitous roots, with many early ones related to animals. The origin of cheese, for example, possibly originated in thenomadpractice of storing milk in the stomach of a dead camel that was attached to the saddle of a live one, thereby mixingrennetfrom the stomach with the milk stored within.[18]

Other examples of serendipity in inventions include:

  • ThePost-It Note,which emerged after 3M scientistSpencer Silverproduced a weak adhesive, and a colleague used it to keep bookmarks in place on a church hymnal.[18]
  • Silly Putty,which came from a failed attempt atsynthetic rubber.[18]
  • The use of sensors to prevent automobileair bagsfrom killing children, which came from a chair developed by theMIT Media Labfor aPenn and Tellermagic show.[18]
  • Themicrowave oven.Raytheon scientist Percy Spencer first patented the idea behind it after noticing that emissions from radar equipment had melted the candy in his pocket.[19]
  • TheVelcrohook-and-loop fastener. George de Mestral came up with the idea after a bird hunting trip when he viewedcocklebursstuck to his pants under a microscope and saw that each burr was covered with tiny hooks.[20]
  • ThePopsicle,whose origins go back to San Francisco where Frank Epperson, age 11, accidentally left a mix of water and soda powder outside to freeze overnight.[21]
  • The polymerteflon,which Roy J. Plunkett observed forming a white mass inside a pressure bottle during an effort to make a newCFCs refrigerant.[22]
  • The antibioticpenicillin,which was discovered bySir Alexander Flemingafter returning from a vacation to find that a Petri dish containingstaphylococcusculture had been infected by aPenicilliummold, and no bacteria grew near it.[23]
  • The effect on humans of the psychedeliclysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)was discovered by Swiss chemistAlbert Hofmannin 1943, after unintentionally ingesting an unknown amount, possibly absorbing it through his skin.[24]

Discoveries

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The serendipitous discovery of the Malasian ''[[Semachrysa jade]]'' [[lacewing]]as a new species was made on [[Flickr]]
The serendipitous discovery of a new species oflacewing,Semachrysa jade,was made onFlickr

Serendipity contributed to entomologist Shaun Winterton discoveringSemachrysa jade,a new species oflacewing,which he found not in its native Malaysia, but on the photo-sharing siteFlickr.Winterton's discovery was aided by Flickr's ability to present images that are personalized to a user's interests, thereby increasing the odds he would chance upon the photo. Computer scientistJaime Teevanhas argued that serendipitous discovery is promoted by such personalisation, writing that "people don't know what to do with random new information. Instead, we want information that is at the fringe of what we already know, because that is when we have the cognitive structures to make sense of the new ideas."[25]

Online activity

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Serendipity is a design principle for online activity that would present viewpoints that diverge from those participants already hold. Harvard Law professorCass Sunsteinargues that such an "architecture of serendipity" would promote a healthier democracy. Like a great city or university, "a well-functioning information market" provides exposure to new ideas, people, and ways of life. "Serendipity is crucial because it expands your horizons. You need that if you want to be free."[26]The idea has potential application in the design of social media, information searches, and web browsing.[27][28]

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Several uncommonly used terms have been derived from the concept and name of serendipity.

William Boydcoined the termzemblanityin the late twentieth century to mean somewhat the opposite of serendipity: "making unhappy, unlucky and expected discoveries occurring by design". The derivation is speculative, but believed to be fromNova Zembla,a barren archipelago once the site of Russian nuclear testing.[29][30]

Bahramdipityis derived directly fromBahram Guras characterized inThe Three Princes of Serendip.It describes thesuppressionof serendipitous discoveries or research results by powerful individuals.[31]

In addition, Solomon & Bronstein (2018) further distinguish between perceptual and realisedpseudo-serendipityandnemorinity.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"Serendipity".OxfordDictionaries.com.Oxford dictionary. Archived fromthe originalon July 11, 2017.Retrieved23 April2018.
  2. ^R. Campa: Making Science by Serendipity. A review of Robert K. Merton and Elinor Barber’s The Travels and Adventures of SerendipityJournal of Evolution and Technology - Vol. 17 Issue 1 – March 2008- pgs 75-83
  3. ^Robert K. Merton:Social Theory and Social Structure.The Free Press, Glencoe IL 1957, S. 12.
  4. ^Merton, R. K. and Barber, E. (2004). The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity: A Study in Sociological Semantics and the Sociology of Science. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  5. ^Busch, Christian (2024-05-01)."Towards a Theory of Serendipity: A Systematic Review and Conceptualization".Journal of Management Studies.61(3): 1110–1151.doi:10.1111/joms.12890.ISSN0022-2380.
  6. ^abChristian Busch: The Serendipity Mindset: The Art and Science of Creating Good Luckon nextbigideaclub.com. Book: New York: Penguin Random House 2020.
  7. ^de Rond, M. (2014). ‘The structure of serendipity’. Culture and Organization, 20, 342–58
  8. ^Copeland, S. (2018). ‘ “Fleming leapt on the unusual like a weasel on a vole”: challenging the paradigms of discovery in science’. Perspectives on Science, 26, 694–721.
  9. ^Vuong, Quan-Hoang (2022).A New Theory of Serendipity: Nature, Emergence and Mechanism.Walter de Gruyter GmbH.ISBN9788366675582.
  10. ^Dew, N. (2009). ‘Serendipity in entrepreneurship’. Organization Studies, 30, 735–53.
  11. ^Race, T. M. and Makri, S. (2016). Accidental Information Discovery. Cultivating Serendipity in the Digital Age. London: Elsevier.
  12. ^Silvia Davoli (2 July 2018)."The creation of the word 'serendipity'".Strawberry Hill House & Garden.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-07-06.Strawberry Hill Treasure Hunt.
  13. ^Remer, Theodore G., ed. (1965).Serendipity and the Three Princes, from the Peregrinaggio of 1557.Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by Theodore G. Remer. Preface by W. S. Lewis.University of Oklahoma Press.p. 6.LCCN65-10112
  14. ^Barber, Robert K. Merton, Elinor (2006).The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity: A Study in Sociological Semantics and the Sociology of Science(Paperback ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 1–3.ISBN978-0691126302.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^"serendipity".Archivedfrom the original on 2018-10-13.Retrieved2017-06-10– via The Free Dictionary.
  16. ^For example:Portugueseserendipidadeorserendipismo;Spanishserendipia;GermanSerendipität;Frenchsérendipitéor alsoheureux hasard(fortunate chance);Italianserendipità(Italian Dictionary Hoepli by Aldo Gabrielli, cfr.Archived2020-12-05 at theWayback Machine);Dutchserendipiteit;Swedish,DanishandNorwegianserendipitet;Romanianserendipitate;Finnishserendipisyysorserendipiteetti;Russiansieriendipnost(Серендипность);Japaneseserendipiti(セレンディピティ);Chineseyìwài fāxiàn( ý ngoại phát hiện that is "unexpected discovery" ).
    Others use directly the termserendipity,likePolish.
  17. ^Collins Chinese Dictionary.New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 2005. pp. 90, 391.ISBN0-00-720432-9.
  18. ^abcd"The Power Of Serendipity".CBS News.5 October 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-08-11.Retrieved2019-02-17.
  19. ^"The story of serendipity".Understanding Science.University of California Museum of Paleontology.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-11-08.Retrieved2019-02-18.
  20. ^"This Month in Physics History: February 9, 1990: Death of George de Mestral".American Physical Society.February 2004.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-02-19.Retrieved2019-02-18.
  21. ^Thomas, J. Thorson (2017).Serendipity: Seemingly Random Events, Insignificant Decisions, and Accidental Discoveries that Altered History.Windy City Publishers.ISBN9781941478592.
  22. ^US 2230654,Plunkett, Roy J,"Tetrafluoroethylene polymers", issued 4 February 1941
  23. ^"Alexander Fleming: Fleming's serendipitous discovery of penicillin changed the course of medicine and earned him a Nobel Prize".Science History Institute.December 5, 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-11-10.Retrieved2020-04-28.
  24. ^Hofmann, Albert (2009).LSD, my problem child: reflections on sacred drugs, mysticism, and science(Fourth English Language ed.). Santa Cruz, CA.ISBN978-0-9798622-2-9.OCLC610059315.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  25. ^Starr, Karla (September 12, 2012)."How to Not Find What You're Looking For".Scientific American Blog Network.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-02-18.Retrieved2019-02-18.
  26. ^Pazzanese, Christina (March 24, 2017)."Danger in the internet echo chamber".Harvard Law Today.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-04-16.Retrieved2019-06-24.
  27. ^Race, Tammera M.; Makri, Stephann (2016-06-13).Accidental Information Discovery: Cultivating Serendipity in the Digital Age.Elsevier.ISBN9781780634319.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-07-15.Retrieved2020-10-20.
  28. ^Reviglio, Urbano (2019-01-02). "Serendipity as an emerging design principle of the infosphere: challenges and opportunities".Ethics and Information Technology.21(2): 151–166.doi:10.1007/s10676-018-9496-y.ISSN1572-8439.S2CID57426650.
  29. ^Boyd, William.Armadillo,Chapter 12,Knopf,New York, 1998.ISBN0-375-40223-3
  30. ^Boyle, Richard (2009-03-12)."Serendipity and Zemblanity".Himal Southasian.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-12-29.Retrieved2020-12-28.
  31. ^(a)Sommer, Toby J. "'Bahramdipity' and Scientific Research",The Scientist,1999,13(3), 13.Archived2001-11-02 at theWayback Machine
    (b)Sommer, Toby J. "Bahramdipity and Nulltiple Scientific Discoveries,"Science and Engineering Ethics,2001,7(1), 77–104.Archived2018-11-26 at theWayback Machine
  32. ^Solomon, Yosef, & Bronstein, Jenny. "Information Serendipity, Pseudo-Serendipity, Zemblanity, Disruptive Discovery and Nemorinity: Revisiting Donizetti's and Romani's Opera Buffa L'elisir d'Amore"Archived2023-07-15 at theWayback Machine,iConference Proceedings,2018,1–4

Further reading

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Wikiquote has quotations related toSerendipity (effect).
Wikimedia Commons has media related toSerendipity.
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