Serendipity: when chance leads to surprising discoveries
There are concepts that manage to fascinate us because they combine a rational explanation with a theory that goes beyond simple reason. Almost every human being needs to believe in something that is free from pure reasoning or from the foundations of science. In this context, serendipity is inserted, a word still known to many only thanks to one of the most romantic films of all time, When love is magic - Serendipity.
However, it is much more and today we will try to find out what exactly it is.
The origin of the term "serendipity"
The word "serendipity" is a neologism that dates back to 1754. In fact, the term "serendipity"was coined by the English writer Horace Walpole, famous for his historical novel The castle of Otranto. The author used it for the first time in a letter to indicate a fortuitous discovery, not the result of research. This discovery concerned a lost painting and referred to a Persian fairy tale The three princes of Serendip, translated into Italian as Three princes of Serendippo by Cristoforo Armeno. Serendippo was the "ancient name of the" island of Ceylon, Sri Lanka, the place where "the story that so fascinated Horace Walpole was set.
Therefore, what was once the name of a country surrounded by the Indian Ocean, has now become synonymous with happy discoveries made while he was looking for something else or arrived by pure chance. All this brings us an immediate sense of joy and happiness that complement entirely the concept of serendipity.
Serendipity in history and in everyday life
The story is full of episodes of serendipity. Very often they concern in the field of science and research in this sense, but not only. For example, who does not know the case of Christopher Columbus? Set sail from Europe in 1492, the Genoese commander intended to go to the Indies and not to discover a new continent like America.
Again in this sense, one cannot fail to mention that, in 1922, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin purely by chance while he was analyzing a bacterial culture for other purposes. A few years earlier, Friedrich Kekulé had already arrived at the explanation of the composition of the benzene molecule after having had a "fortuitous appearance in a dream.
As you can understand from these examples, serendipity is the result of chance, but very often a person is already carrying out research, only that his conclusion is different and much better than he initially thought. In support of this last thesis, in 1948 the sociologist Robert K. Merton said that the concept of serendipity and randomness of scientific research is present in every discovery because if the researcher knew from the beginning what he is looking for, he would not need to to look for it, but it would be enough for him to have a confirmation of a reality that he already foresees exists.
It is not just history that is the source of multiple examples of serendipity. We can find it in everyday life even when we pay less attention to it. For example, it may happen that we are looking for a book among the shelves of the house and find in its place an old photograph or a note that we had forgotten. That find, that discovery, instantly brings us a sense of happiness and fulfillment. This means that small and random surprises can arrive at any moment: it is enough to know how to carefully observe the reality that surrounds us and stimulate our sensitivity without feeling the need to always give it a rational explanation.
The success of the concept of serendipity
As we have already mentioned, although it is certainly talked about more often in recent years, the term serendipity is known to many only because it is connected to a film from the early 2000s. When love is magic - Serendipity.
We are in New York during the festive period leading up to Christmas.Jonathan Trager meets Sara Thomas inside a department store because they both want the same pair of gloves. They start talking and continue their acquaintance first in the cafeteria Serendipity and then ice skating in Central Park. When Johathan suggests that Sara exchange phone numbers, she refuses, suggesting that they leave it to fate. If their destiny is to be together, then it will happen. After a series of adventures and misunderstandings, the love between the two will be able to have its happy ending demonstrating how even in the simplest and most banal reality there can be that pinch of magic.
That of the 2001 film is the demonstration of how the action of fate and chance is a thought that can fascinate many. It attracts because it has no rational foundations and manages to show how not everything is the result of a well-defined and fixed calculation. , giving more space to our emotional sphere, to the imagination and to the imponderability of existence.
Phrases about serendipity
Many sentences have been written on the theme of serendipity, of the discoveries dictated by chance and the role of Fate in our life. We have collected the most beautiful and the most significant.
Serendipity is looking for a needle in a haystack and finding the farmer's daughter there.
Julius Comroe Jr.
Life is always the triumph of the improbable and the miracle of the unexpected.
Henri-Marie de Lubac
Serendipity is common when writing a poem: you aim to conquer the Indies and reach America.
Andrea Zanzotto
Nothing is more propitious than a journey to explore all the marvelous aspects of the unpredictable.
Jean-Raymond Boudou
Sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn't intend to take.
Angela N. Blount
