Serendipity

Serendipity is a distinctive type of inductive discovery. Robert Stebbins defines it as the quintessential form of informal experimentation, accidental discovery, and spontaneous invention. Robert K. Merton and Elinor Barber observe that serendipity can either refer to finding something of value while searching for something else or to finding something sought after in an unexpected place or manner. Serendipity contrasts sharply with a neighboring type of discovery with which it is sometimes confused; namely, exploration. The second is a broad-ranging, purposive, systematic, prearranged undertaking. And whereas serendipity is highly democratic—at least in principle anyone can experience it—exploration is more narrowly select, the province of those creative people who are trained to routinely produce new ideas. In certain fields of serious leisure and professional work, artists, scientists, and entertainers, for example, routinely explore while, in some forms of casual leisure, people at play (both children and adults), sociable conversationalists, and seekers of sensory stimulation never do this. This observation holds equally well for many nonprofessional fields of work. For this second group, discovery can only come by way of serendipity. For the routinely creative group, however, discovery, though occasionally serendipitous, is nonetheless far more likely to flow from exploration.

Merton, one of a small number of social scientists to discuss serendipity in detail, first ran onto its sociological manifestation during his research on the social organization of Craftown, his pseudonym for a suburban housing community composed of over 700 families. In this largely working-class community, he observed that a sizeable proportion of its residents were affiliated with more civic, political, and other voluntary organizations than in their previous places of residence. Serendipitously, he noted further that this increase in group participation had occurred also among the parents of infants and young children. This finding contradicted commonsense knowledge, for it is well known that, particularly on the lower socioeconomic levels, youngsters commonly tie parents down. In turn, this situation prevents them from actively participating in organized group life outside the home. This anomalous fact emerged well beyond Merton's original program of observation.

Recently, in a far more detailed examination of serendipity than found in Merton's earlier study, Merton and Barber explore its nature, history, and application in the humanities and social sciences. They observe that serendipity as a term first appeared in a letter written in 1754 by Horace Walpole to Horace Mann. Walpole coined serendipity based on his familiarity with the fairy tale The Travels and Adventures of Three Princes of Serendip. Serendip is the ancient name of Ceylon (today, Sri Lanka), and the three princes were sons of Jafer, at the time philosopher and king of that country. Serendipitous discovery is evident in places in the tale.