Serendipity and Accidental Discoveries

Serendipity, the word that describes the faculty of making fortunate and unexpected discoveries by accident was first used by Walpole. The English language dictionary defines it as an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. The word today is seen as playing a pivotal role in sparking innovation; some evolving think tank methods give it credence(José Campos, 2002). In originating the word, Cannon writes quoting Walpole as follows:
"In 1751 Horace Walpole, the English statesman and diplomatist wrote a letter to his friend, Horace Mann, in which he proposed adding a new word to our vocabulary, "serendipity." The word has not has extensive usage. It is not commonly found in dictionaries of the English language. When I mentioned “serendipity” to one of my acquaintances and asked him if he knew the meaning, he suggested that it probably designated a mental state combining serenity and stupidity. He was mistaken. Walpole’s proposal was based upon his reading of a fairy tale, entitled “The Three Princess of Serendip.” Serendip, I may interject was an ancient name of Ceylon. As their highnesses traveled, so Walpole wrote, “they were always making discoveries, by accident or sagacity of things they were not in quest of.” When the world is mentioned in dictionaries, therefore, it is said to designate the happy faculty, or luck, of finding unforeseen evidence of one’s ideas, or with surprise coming upon new objects or relations, which were not being sought. In the progress of man’s adjustment to the world in which he lives there have been many instances of serendipity(Cannon, 1940, pp204).”
Probably the most notable instance of an accidental discovery in history was the discovery of penicillin by the Scottish Biologist Alexander Fleming in 1928 that changed modern medicine and continues to save countless lives today. His failure to properly clean and disinfect his laboratory of bacteria before heading for vacation was the sagacity. Only to return and found his culture contaminated with penicillin molds, which had killed the expected bacteria growth(Paul André, 2009). His otherwise understanding of the situation and correctly guessing the mold had antibacterial properties and his ability to work in identifying and extracting it revolutionize today’s world of antibiotics. Apart from his domain knowledge in biology, Sir Fleming's commitment to further investigate the sudden observation and adequately document the situation led him ultimately to be able to identify the mold as penicillin notatum including its ability to kill other bacteria(José Campos, 2002).
Another unusual instance of serendipity was the accidental discovery made in 1895 by German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen. While working with a closed cathode ray tube, he observed a nearly fluorescent screen would glow on turning the container in a dark room. After many attempts to block the unknown rays and later realizing the photographic of the rays which he had earlier named X-radiation; a named signifying the anonymous nature of the discovered rays. Although, his incomplete knowledge of electromagnetic radiation could have stopped him from further investigations, but Roentgen experienced the weak light shining in the middle of the room went forward to have developed our understanding through more research on the subject(José Campos, 2002).
The above examples help shows the forces at work in serendipitous discoveries where many of the participants did only remained committed but acted in a way to further deepen their chance discoveries irrespective of their existing domain knowledge. Hence, Cunha concludes "serendipitous discoveries may be accidental, but they are not fortuitous. They involve a deliberate process of the search for a solution to Problem A"(CUNHA, 2005). These discoveries could also involve empathy, active learning, and analysis for better depth.
 
References

Cannon, D. W. B. (1940). The Role of Change in Discovery. American Association for Advancement of Science, 204-209.
CUNHA, M. P. E. (2005). SERENDIPITY: WHY SOME ORGANIZATIONS ARE LUCKIER THAN OTHERS.
José Campos, A. D. d. F. (2002). Programming for Serendipity. American Association for Artificial Intelligence.
Paul André, m. c. S., Jaime Teevan, Susan T. Dumais. (2009). Discovery Is Never by Chance: Designing for (Un)Serendipity.