Word
Serendipity
An unplanned discovery made useful by noticing and interpreting what chance presents
Examples
The contaminated culture became serendipity when the researcher investigated the unexpected effect.
Finding an unrelated but useful archive while following another lead can be serendipity.
Origin
Horace Walpole coined the word in a letter to Horace Mann dated January 28, 1754. He drew it from a tale about the princes of Serendip, whose discoveries joined accident with perceptive reasoning. The original explanation gave judgment a role alongside luck.
How it connects
Serendipity joins an unplanned encounter with perceptive interpretation.
This word appeared in The accident that becomes a question, the Involves connection for September 30, 2026, which asked: Why do some surprises become discoveries while others get discarded?
Check yourself
Which example best fits serendipity?
An unexpected result is recognized and investigated into a useful finding. Exactly. The concept combines an unplanned opening with useful recognition and follow-through.
What the sources establish
Walpole introduced serendipity in his January 28, 1754 letter, connecting accident with sagacity.
Sources
To Horace Mann, January 28, 1754 (Horace Walpole; Yale Edition of the Correspondence), Letter passage introducing serendipity through accident and sagacity