British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 45 (2):631-648 (1994)
Abstract |
I define serendipity as the art of making an unsought finding. And I propose an overview of my collection of serendipities, the largest yet assembled, chiefly in science and technology, but also in art, by giving a list of ‘serendipity patterns’. Although my list of ‘patterns’ is just a list and not a classification, it serves to introduce a new and possibly stimulating perspective on the old subject of serendipity. Knowledge of these ‘serendipity patterns’ might help in expecting also the unexpected and in finding also the unsought. * I acknowledge A. D. de Groot, R. C. M. Noordam, B. P. van Heusden, T. Pinkster, C. J. van den Berg, T. A. F. Kuipers, A. Wegener Sleeswijk and my referee for their suggestions and I dedicate this article to T. A. van Kooten. Cases and studies of serendipidy are welcome. À propos: a travelling serendipity exhibition is available, also for ‘new democracies’: ‘Freedom of opportunity as developed by democracy is the best human reaction to divergent phenomena. We may, in fact, define ‘freedom’ as ‘the opportunity to profit from the unexpected.’ (Langmuir [1956]).
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DOI | 10.1093/bjps/45.2.631 |
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References found in this work BETA
Social Theory and Social Structure.Lawrence Haworth - 1961 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 11 (44):345-346.
The Act of Creation.Arthur Koestler - 1964 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 16 (63):255-257.
The Act of Creation: A Study of the Conscious and Unconscious Processes of Humor, Scientific Discovery and Art.A. Koestler - 1964
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Citations of this work BETA
How Do We Perceive Serendipity?Quy Khuc - 2022 - In Quan-Hoang Vuong (ed.), A New Theory of Serendipity: Nature, Emergence and Mechanism. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter. pp. 13-40.
Preliminary Explanations of Serendipity Based on Non-Linear Information Process.Tam-Tri Le, Viet-Phuong La, Quy Khuc & Minh-Hoang Nguyen - 2022 - In Quan-Hoang Vuong (ed.), A New Theory of Serendipity: Nature, Emergence and Mechanism. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter. pp. 175-190.
Environments and Cultures That Nurture Serendipity Strikes.Quan-Hoang Vuong, Minh-Hoang Nguyen, Quy Khuc & Tam-Tri Le - 2022 - In A New Theory of Serendipity: Nature, Emergence and Mechanism. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter. pp. 157-174.
A New Theory of Serendipity: Nature, Emergence and Mechanism.Quan-Hoang Vuong (ed.) - 2022 - Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter.
A New Theory of Serendipity.Quan-Hoang Vuong, Tam-Tri Le, Quy Khuc & Minh-Hoang Nguyen - 2022 - In A New Theory of Serendipity: Nature, Emergence and Mechanism. Berlin: De Gruyter. pp. 91-108.
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