The Art of the Successful Error: Decoding the History of Serendipity

What do the Post-it Note, Penicillin, and a 18th-century Persian fairy tale have in common? They are all pillars of a concept we often misunderstand: Serendipity.

In a recent deep-dive for JSTOR Daily, Emily Zarevich explored the evolution of this word, tracing it from a literary quirk to a foundational requirement for scientific progress. For anyone following the “Serendipity Rules” philosophy, her article provides the ultimate historical “Why.”

1. The Lost Half of the Definition: “Sagacity”

Most people today use “serendipity” as a synonym for “luck.” But the man who coined the term in 1754, Horace Walpole, had something much more specific in mind.

Inspired by the tale The Three Princes of Serendip, Walpole defined the word as making discoveries “by accidents and sagacity.” This is the “Rule” we live by: An accident without sagacity (keen mental discernment and sound judgment) is just a mistake. It is the prepared mind that can turn the fluke into a finding.

2. The “Successful Error”

The article highlights a brilliant framing by researcher Pek Van Andel: Serendipity is often a “successful error.” Consider the invention of the Post-it Note. In 1968, Spencer Silver was attempting to create a “super-strong” adhesive for the aerospace industry. He failed. He ended up with a “super-weak” adhesive that would peel off any surface without leaving a residue.

In a world without Serendipity Rules, that glue would have been trashed as a failure. But because Silver practiced “accidental sagacity,” he kept the formula alive until a colleague, Art Fry, realized its potential as a bookmark. The “error” ultimately proved to be the discovery.

3. Engineering the “Un-Quest”

Walpole noted that the Princes of Serendip were always finding things “which they were not in quest of.” This is the great paradox of innovation: If you only look for what you expect, you will only find what you already know. To find the “un-quested” breakthrough, you must leave room for the unplanned. As the JSTOR piece points out, serendipity isn’t a passive event that happens to you; it’s a skill you practice throughout your quest.

The Takeaways for You

Serendipity is not a lightning strike; it’s the Art of the Successful Error. To master it, you don’t need to be lucky. You need to be observant. You need to follow the “Rules” that allow you to see the value in the “wrong” result. As the history of the word demonstrates, the biggest breakthroughs in the world are usually just “mistakes” intersecting with a prepared mind.