Serendipity, Error and Exaptation

When I think of the term "serendipity", my mind first goes to the song "Sweet Serendipity" by Lee DeWyze. The song is about how the artist's day happens to be going well, everything seems to take care of itself in perfect timing. My definition of serendipity is, "The force that, seemingly by chance, causes events or outcomes to occur at just the right time, place or circumstance." The first invention that comes to mind that embodies this is the invention of penicillin. When a petri dish became accidentally contaminated with penicillin mold, the intended bacteria would not grown in the culture. This lead to the lifesaving discovery of an antibiotic, simply by a culture becoming contaminated (Grift, 2016).

The term "error" can be defined as "any action or event that occurs in opposition to the intended action or event". An invention that well embodies "error", the discovery of radium. Although the discovery itself is not so much of an error as the result of the discovery. Marie Curie's assistant, Blanche Wittman would come to lose three limbs due to radiation poisoning caused by research on radiation. The irony of the situation is the current usage of radium to solve some of the most difficult medical cases, specifically cancer (Enright, 2006).

The term "Exaptation" defined in my own words, "the evolution of new functionality of a feature that was not previously present". The first invention that comes to mind is a project I worked on in a previous career. Due to changing regulation, smaller aircraft were now required to have on-board GPS location systems. A number of these small planes were not equip with this technology. In response to demand, a company developed a replacement light bulb on the wing of the aircraft that added GPS functionality to the plane. This unit replaced a simple wing light and enabled new functionality. Because I'm unsure of the commercialization and patent process of this technology, I will not reveal the company who was developing this technology.

References:

Enright, A. (2006, Nov 04). Review: Fiction: A deadly blue light: A tale of love, hysteria and the discovery of radium appeals to anne enright: The story of blanche and marie by per olov enquist, translated by tiina nunnally 215pp, harvill secker, pounds 16.99. The Guardian https://coloradotech.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/review-fiction-deadly-blue-light-tale-love/docview/246538945/se-2?accountid=144789

 Grift, K. (2016, Mar 03). GREAT INVENTIONS PENICILLIN. The Mercury https://coloradotech.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/great-inventions-penicillin/docview/1769818764/se-2?accountid=144789