Unit 7 DB 2 

Serendipity:

When we examine past discoveries and innovations, we may see that these discoveries flowed from one of several possible springs. First are those discoveries that develop as the result of intentional thought. Through ongoing research and experimentation, the inventor toils toward a goal and perfects their discovery. The second is through what some would call good luck while others would call serendipity. Sometimes serendipity occurs when you are simply being active or reflective, and the process of being mentally or physically engaged in something sets you onto a direct course of discovering something you were not seeking. It could be argued that serendipity occurs because our minds are ready for it. For example, this past summer, I was walking on a dog trail that I have walked every day for many years. Nothing special, just a normal day out walking the pooch. However, it had been especially hot on this one day, and I was reminded of a tea my Aunt made called “sun tea.” Sun tea is simply made by filling up a glass jar with water and putting tea bags in it, then set it outside in the sun to brew. Whenever my Aunt would brew this tea, she would always add fresh mint to it from her garden. So on this warm summer day, as I was walking my dog on that old familiar walking path, I was thinking about homegrown mint. As serendipity would have it, I noticed a patch of wild mint growing in the forest. I had never noticed it before, but there it was. My discovery resulted in a great glass of sun tea and the start of my own mint garden. J   Therefore, in summary, serendipity may occur without intentional action, but I do believe it occurs because our minds were made ready for it.  

Errors:

Distinctly different from serendipity is discovering something through an error. An error is usually an unintended action. Sometimes the error is a new discovery like popcorn falling into a bonfire and popping, thus introducing “popcorn,” and sometimes, an error leads to a better way of doing something. This past summer, my adult son and his friends were making a bonfire. They were impatient and did not want to start the fire using kindling but instead thought it would be better to shower the wood with gasoline and light it as they did in the past. Of course, this is not a very safe practice as the gasoline often provides a very dangerous flash and ball of fire when first lit. On this particular day, they accidentally grabbed the can of kerosene in error, thinking it was the gasoline. Using the kerosene to light the fire, they found that it provided a smooth, gentle flame and did not provide the harsh ball of fire that the gasoline did. With this discovery, they changed their process for starting fires and shifted from the use of gasoline to kerosene. If no one gets hurt, errors can sometimes have favorable consequences.

Exaptation:

Exaptation is a concept I have long admired. The ability for someone to take something that already exists but adapt its use for another purpose is a great form of innovation. When I was a child, I enjoyed watching a TV series called “Lost in Space.” One of the most memorable qualities of this show was the main character's ability to survive and adapt by repurposing things they had on the spaceship to meet the purpose and needs in front of them.   Perhaps the need to survive or the need to improve our condition, humankind seems to be prolific at adapting things in our environment to different uses than they were originally intended. Consider the simple bird feather. The feather's purpose is to provide a bird with both protection from the elements and to support flight.  However, an 18th-century writer could convert a feather found on the ground into a pen by dipping the tip of the feather into a bowl of berry juice.  It is my observation that many things in our world today were built upon repurposed discoveries of the past.

Summary:

If we were to ask ourselves where future innovations would come from, we could look to the past to see where they originated. Some innovation has come about by chance through serendipity, others through a new discovery provided by realizing the hidden value within an error, and yet another through exaptation or the repurposing of something that already exists to find new meaning or capabilities from it. As students of innovation, it is important to be mindful of the many different pathways that innovation can come from. By opening our minds to the potential, we give ourselves the eyes to see and ears to hear the hidden opportunities that are before us.