Serendipia when an error becomes a great discovery

In today's article we will talk about one of the most interesting concepts that exist: the Serendipia. That is, the discovery of something important by mistake.

What is serendipia or serendipity?

The Serendipia (From English, Serendipity -there is no direct translation into Spanish -) is a concept that is used to represent a type of fortuitous event: A discovery that occurs when you are looking for something else (Or, sometimes, without being looking for anything else).

For example, One of the most famous serendipia cases is that of Viagra. This medicine that has given the third age emerged as a result of an investigation in which a new remedy for angina was sought for chest.

However, when it was being tested, it could be seen that one of its side effects was precisely ... challenging the laws of gravity in the male genital area.

Another case of serendipia was the discovery of penicillin (that is, the precursor of the entire antibiotic revolution). This case of serendipia is more than the second type. That is, Fleming was not looking for anything in particular.

It happens that Fleming was investigating the flu in 1928, and had a Staphylococcus bacterium on a Petri plate. For an oversight, a greenish blue mold had occupied the plaque, and had killed the bacteria.

This type of discoveries are something of the most common. The above may seem like a selection of two isolated cases, but the truth is that the examples are counted by thousands. And then I explain why.

What is the importance of serendipia?

The importance of serendipia, although it may seem somewhat lower, the truth is that it is capital. And this is so for two simple reasons: the first, that the human being is not made to plan things too much. The second, We don't know the unknown.

We will explain a little better both reasons:

As for the first, it should be noted that the human being can make many plans to try to achieve their goals, But they rarely go well. It is much more common than something in the plan does not go as expected. Sometimes, that does not go as expected, can be positive.

As for the second, I consider that it is more important, and, although it looks like a constraint, it must be indicated: We cannot know what is unknown. Therefore, it is impossible to consider making a discovery consciously.

Of course, we can have intuitions, but no certainty. That is why serendipia is fundamental. Serendipia allows us to discover things randomly and take advantage of them consciously.

It must be clarified that, for the serendipia to be "effective", you have to keep your eyes open. Imagine that Fleming would not have realized that this mold could be a revolution in medicine. The event would have been the same ... but it would not have taken advantage!

And ... beyond science, there is serendipia?

As we have raised, it seems that serendipia only operates in the field of science. That is, you are conducting an investigation and, by chance, there is a fortuitous event and you realize that this fortuitous event has more value than what you were investigated.

But it does not have to appear only in an environment of this type. It could perfectly arise in a business environment, instead of in a scientific environment, for example. And, in this case, I want to tell you the story of a friend.

This friend of mine created a product purchase platform, and, additionally, created a system that allowed making money between different payment systems (Paypal, Bitcoin, Neteller ...).

My friend's idea was to use that as support for the platform, being the platform the place where the business would take place. However, He soon realized that people used the money conversion system more than the platform itself.

Of course, he quickly put aside the purchase-sale platform and dedicated himself to growing the money conversion business between different payment systems. And the truth is that he succeeded, because in a short time, a large company bought the business.

So, how do you see, Serendipia not only appears in science, but also in entrepreneurship And, in reality, at any time and place. That is why it is convenient to have your eyes wide open (and also the mind) to detect those moments. Who knows what great things you can discover!

As you can see, the Serendipia Play a fundamental role in the development of knowledge and in the discovery and creation of new businesses. Therefore, we have to keep our mind open to realize when these opportunities appear.