Serendipity Science: An Emerging Field and its Methods

✍ Scribed by Samantha Copeland (editor), Wendy Ross (editor), Martin Sand (editor)

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2023
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 244
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This volume brings together for the first time the diverse threads within the growing field of serendipity research, to reflect both on the origins of this emerging field within different disciplines as well as its increasing influence as its own field with foundational texts and emerging practices. The phenomenon of serendipity has been described in many ways since Horace Walpole initially coined the term in 1754 to categorize those discoveries that happen by “both accidents and sagacity”. This book offers a sampling of perspectives from experts in serendipity research from organizational studies, management theory, information science and library studies, psychology, literature, computer science, social science, ethics, and the history and philosophy of science. Considerations about the importance and role of serendipity are being raised now across science (both empirical and theoretical) as well as practice (from art and innovation to leadership and governance), with ever more eyes looking closer at its significance in human history and the likelihood it will play a key, while unpredictable, role in forming our future. Serendipity Science represents an emerging, and also important and potentially necessary field of study, if we are to deal well as a society with our complex times and uncertain future.

✦ Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Excerpt from a Letter from Horace Walpole to Horace Mann, 28 January 1754
Contents
Editors and Contributors
List of Figures
1 Introduction—A Science of Serendipity?
What does Serendipity Science look like?
Chapter 2—Exploration of “Serendipity” in the Mongolian Language, by Borchuluun Yadamsuren
Chapter 3—Serendipity and Knowledge Organizations, by Toby Burrows and Deb Verhoeven
Chapter 4—Serendipity in Management and Organization Studies, by Miguel Pinha e Cunha and Marco Berti
Chapter 5—Serendipity in Entrepreneurship, Strategy, and Innovation, by Christian Busch and Matthew Grimes
Chapter 6—Serendipity and the History of the Philosophy of Science, by Samantha Copeland
Chapter 7—Serendipity and Ignorance Studies, by Selene Arfini
Chapter 8—Serendipity as a Design Principle of Digital Environments: Theoretical Distinctions, by Urbano Reviglio
Chapter 9—Serendipitous Cognition—The Systematic Consideration of the Accidental Genesis of New Ideas, by Wendy Ross
Chapter 10—Serendipity, Luck and Collective Responsibility in Medical Innovation—The History of Vaccination, by Martin Sand and Luca Chiapperino
Chapter 11—Serendipity Across Contexts: From Offices to Post-conflict Settings, by Michael Soto
Chapter 12: Epilogue, by Sanda Erdelez
References
2 Exploration of “Serendipity” in the Mongolian Language
Adoption and Diffusion of the Word Serendipity in English
The Role of Dictionaries in the Spread of the Word Serendipity
Exploring the Meaning of the Word Serendipity in Mongolian Language
Coining the Term for Serendipity in Mongolian
Serendipity Case Study in Contemporary Mongolia
References
3 Serendipity and Knowledge Organisation
Serendipity and the Physical Library
Serendipity and Information Retrieval
Serendipity and the Information-Seeking Process
Serendipity and the Environment
Serendipity, the Web, and Social Media
Knowledge Organization and the Web
Serendipity and Spatial Representations
Beyond the Knowledge Hierarchy
Humanities Networked Infrastructure (HuNI)
Conclusion
References
4 Serendipity in Management and Organization Studies
The Place of Serendipity in Management Organization Studies
How Organization Counters Surprise and Bulldozes Serendipity
Embracing Serendipity
Exposing the Organization to Serendipitous Emergence
Responding to Serendipitous Opportunities
Future of Serendipity in Organization Studies
Conclusion
References
5 Serendipity in Entrepreneurship, Strategy, and Innovation—A Review and Conceptualisation
Introduction
How Biases of Conventional Decision Making Constrain Serendipity
Step 1: Serendipity Triggers
Step 2: Bisociation
Step 3: Enactment
Discussion
Conclusion
References
6 Serendipity and the History of the Philosophy of Science
The Context of Discovery
Serendipity as a Bridge
From the Hunt to Heuristics
An Epistemology of Serendipitous Discovery
Concluding Comments
References
7 Serendipity and Ignorance Studies
The Serendipity Machine and Why It Could not Work
Not Just a Happy Event
Rational, Willful, and Aching Ignorance
Before and After the Accident
The Embodied and Distributed Aspects of Discovery
The Body Matters: Epistemic Feelings and Discovery
Distributed Serendipity: Interdisciplinarity and Disciplinary Jars
Concluding Thoughts
References
8 Serendipity as a Design Principle of Personalization Systems—Theoretical Distinctions
An Introduction to Digital Serendipity
A Brief History of Digital Serendipity
Digital Serendipity and Its Nuances
Serendipity from a Theoretical Perspective
Serendipity as a Design Principle
Serendipity as a Capability
Two Routes to Design for Digital Serendipity
Hyper-Personalised Serendipity
Pseudo-Personalised Serendipity
Individual and Political Serendipity: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Individual Serendipity
Political Serendipity
Discussion
Conclusions
References
9 Serendipitous Cognition—The Systematic Consideration of the Accidental Genesis of New Ideas
References
10 Serendipity, Luck and Collective Responsibility in Medical Innovation—The History of Vaccination
References
11 Serendipity Across Contexts: From Offices to Post-conflict Settings
References
12 Epilogue
References
Correction to: Exploration of “Serendipity” in the Mongolian Language
Correction to: Chapter 2 in: S. Copeland et al. (eds.), Serendipity Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33529-7_2
Index