"Serendipity:
Discovering something by accident while investigating something quite different".
In etymological sense the term is based upon a persian fairytale "The Three Princes of Serendip" (Serendip being the Persian name for Sri Lanka). Another definition I'll probably never forget since I read it the first time: "Looking for a needle in a haystack, and rolling out of it with the farmer's daughter".
The importance of serendipity
Quite a lot of people think serendipity a bit awkward. It can't be trained, it can't be planned, you cannot depend on it. It's a bit like intuition. It can be very powerful, but can you count on it to happen?
In my experience there is a way to train it, by using it and trusting it. I do trust my intuition. When I 'feel' that something is not good I trust that feel, and respond accordingly. The more often I used it, the more I could trust it!
Since I am a teacher, of course it doesn't stop with 'feeling', no student would accept that! So I have to analyze and find out what it is that made me 'feel'. (And that is good, because I learn quite a lot that way). And although I sometimes had to think long and hard, it never let me down for years!
In my opinion, serendipity acts in the same way, although i consider it less a 'tool' than intuition. Essential in serendipity is, in my opinion, your state of mind. You have to have an open mind for it to happen (the same goes for intuition, by the way). (and even if it doesn't happen an open mind is a great good!)
For instance, say about ten people are looking at the same thing. Nobody sees anything worth noticing. Then an eleventh person walks along (looking for something completely different) and notices the importance of something that the others fail to see. That is what serendipity is, although it doesn't have to be a new person, but it helps to have a fresh mind (going to the toilet helps, a coffee-break helps, a.s.o.)
Juicy Salif
Some of my favourite objects are the result of serendipity. One of them that made me feel a visceral urge to buy, was the Juicy Salif. Although I even did not know what it was, I did not know what it could do (or that I could do with it), or even what the price was, I knew I did want it. The object is designed by Philip Starck, who at that time hadn't planned to design anything, but simply was hungry. He was sitting in a restaurant in Paris (as I remember it) and had ordered some octopus. While waiting he was doodling on a paper napkin. Starting in the lower left corner he doodled an octopus, in the right top corner he had designed the Juicy Salif. Most examples of serendipity you will find in scientific fields (although not everybody likes to admit that.....)
Also there are several discussions about the nature of serendipity: is it Science? (hardly) Is it just dumb luck? (not nearly) Is it art ("Serendipity is the art of making an unsought finding." Pek van Andel)? (maybe) Is it a state of mind (yes)?
You can find lists of examples of serendipity anywhere on the net, but among those examples you'll find America (discovered by Columbus who in fact was looking for a way to India).
I finish with a quote by Isaac Asimov that I like very much, and which is very appropriate:
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!', but 'That's funny...!'".
