Anticipating Serendipity Preparing for the Unexpected Thomas J Marlowe Department of Mathematics & Computer Science Seton Hall University South Orange NJ 07065 USA thomas.marlowe@shu.edu ABSTRACT Serendipity—using “fortunate accidents” for learning or discovery—is a valued if too infrequent route to progress. Although serendipity cannot be scheduled or relied upon, one can develop skills, flexibility and habits of mind that make the recognition and incorporation of serendipitous discoveries more likely. This paper overviews at a high level a program of activities and concepts aimed at preparing modern professionals and communities to leverage the fortunate occurrences they encounter. Keywords: serendipity, discovery, community, collaboration, improvisation, 1. INTRODUCTION Serendipity, felicitous acquisition or discovery by a combination of fortune and sagacity, derives from Horace Walpole’s correspondence commenting on the fable, The Three Princes of Serendip [33, 36], dating in English from the 18th century. As Walpole states, the three princes were “always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of”. Thus serendipity cannot be a direct goal of a program of discovery, since of course it is impossible to schedule luck, but it is possible to inculcate sagacity, by developing flexibility and an adaptable knowledge base, and fostering openness, wisdom, and judgment. In the rest of this paper, we look at forms and aspects of serendipity, and suggest an approach for a framework to facilitate it. In particular, we look at the connection of serendipity with improvisation, intuition and analogy. We then look briefly at a broad variety of applications, and at tools that have been developed for its support. Finally, we provide conclusions and recommendations. 2. FORMS AND ASPECTS It is possible to recognize three forms (or levels) of serendipity: First, recognition of an unexpected situation or result, as in Goodyear’s discovery of vulcanized rubber [10], Fleming’s penicillin [37], or Plunkett’s Teflon [7]. Second, connections via analogy or linkages, as in Kekulé’s (possibly apocryphal) realization of the structure of benzene when he dreamed of a self-devouring snake (the Worm Ouroboros) [35]. And third, the integration of multiple perspectives or disciplines through the formation of groups and communities, where one party’s knowledge or approach supplies a missing key to a problem faced by another. The second, intuitive form, is closely related to the idea of the thought experiment. An interesting example of this form, making totally unexpected connections, occurred in the work of the author. After struggling for months to find an algorithm and complexity analysis for a problem in real-time multi-media scheduling [21], it turned out that the problem was essentially analogous to the line-segment intersection problem [32], which the author had encountered only by taking a course in combinatorial geometry because he found the instructor’s approach to teaching appealing. Dealing with the unexpected is the key to the first two forms. As Isaac Asimov once wrote, “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That's funny’” [4]. But to properly deal with the unexpected, one must admit the possibility, and have sufficient mental flexibility, sensory awareness, and “thinking in the background” beyond the immediate task at hand to be able to cope with fortunate surprises. One must then be able to recognize that something unexpected has occurred, to assess whether the event has the potential to be interesting, and to modify and adapt plans and projects to explore and possibly incorporate the discovery and/or its consequences, and perhaps even changing processes and approaches. Finally, one must be able to evaluate the result to see if that incorporation was in fact productive, and as necessary to modify and evolve the result, even if it means reverting to the earlier plan or product. 3. THE COLLABORATIVE AND INTERDISCIPLINARY MODE Collaboration, interdisciplinary ventures, and the community mode in general call not only for such abilities, but also for more group-oriented and communication intensive skills [27]. (Note that “interdisciplinarity” here means more than teams from different disciplines 22 SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS VOLUME 12 - NUMBER 5 - YEAR 2014 ISSN: 1690-4524