Serendipity
In creative work occasionally there is the "happy accident." You may stumble onto a solution that appears through happenstance or sheer coincidence. The incidental solution is called "serendipity." The term serendipity is attributed to British writer Horace Walpole from a Persian tale entitled The Three Princes of Serendip, in which the heroes make discoveries accidentally.
Discoveries such as penicillin and vulcanization and inventions like tea, velcro and Post-It notes were happy accidents--examples of serendipity. Creatively serendipity has been enhanced of late by the internet, which allows those looking for solutions to browse a broad range of information which may or may not be related to the project at hand. It's this information-rich and diverse atmosphere in which serendipity is most likely to occur.
Sometimes the words "chance" or "luck" are used in conjunction with serendipity. Really, serendipity has more to do with a mind that is on the lookout for the unpredicted. For those who keep an eye out for the "happy accident," serendipity is not "chance," but rather a skill that often yields positive, if unexpected, results.
|
For Further Reading On This Topic...
