I checked the TV guide this morning to find something to watch while I was waiting for my mom to serve up some blueberry pancakes and I decided to tune into David Suzuki's The Nature of Things. I haven't seen that show in years but the description sounded interesting.
It turned out that it was an episode dedicated to the idea of serendipity in scientific discovery--like how penicillin was an accidental discover, and the technology behind the microwave oven, the idea behind Velcro and the discovery that turned heart medication into today's Viagra.
The fact that these discoveries were made accidentally is interesting enough, but the show looked more into all the factors that contribute to a serendipitous discovery. For instance, Dr. Alexander Flemming, who discovered penicillin, was known for his sloppiness, creativity and absent-mindedness. His discovery of penicillin happened after he forgot and left a dish of staphylococcus bacteria in his lab for a few days. When he found it, he noticed that the dish dotted with bacterial growth, apart from one area where a patch of mould (Penicillin notatum) was growing. The mould produced a substance, named penicillin by Fleming, which inhibited bacterial growth and was later found to be effective against a wide range of harmful bacteria.
Sloppiness and absent-mindedness are not great qualities for anyone, never mind a scientist, but they helped Flemming make one of medicine's most important discoveries. It's not a reason to consider trying to pick up bad habits, but it does seem like another good reason to embrace all your quirks and faults as part of what makes you, you.
The program went on to explore the type of people who have a tendency to experience serendipity--a propensity for making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated. They are naturally curious and open to trying new things. They are creative and will find themselves in unique situations where the new information will present itself.
Serendipity is one of my favourite words. I love the idea of it and I love, love the movie. I'm always on the look out for serendipity in my life, using it to make sense of the path I've followed. Lisa calls me a romantic, which seems to go with this whole "meant to be" idea that I had thought was what serendipity was all about. Catching that show today was rather serendipitous and got me thinking differently about my list of things I sometimes think I need to improve or change--like being a romantic and idealist which annoys me when they seem to only cause disappointment and frustration. Who's to say that they haven't also had significant impacts on my life so far, that they haven't carried me to my success to date?
After the show I went on to the CBC website to try to find the episode online so I could watch parts of it again and note down some interesting quotes. It wasn't available though because apparently the episode was actually a repeat; it originally aired July 25, 2010. I was just lucky to catch it this time. While poking around the CBC documentaries section I found a feature on Google, watched it, and got some new inspiration for some ideas I had. It also reminded me that somewhere in my house I have my treasured freebee Google t-shirt that I got when I visited Google in 2005, and I could wear it this week to work while we have casual days in support of United Way. Have some fun and think about it, how did you get to where you are sitting today? How did you happen to meet me here?
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