There’s a scene in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Reese, the unintelligent older brother, unknowingly creates an enzyme in his younger brother’s science kit—a task which Malcolm had been slaving away for days at without any results. How did Reese discover this while his genius brother couldn’t? Simply by bouncing his basketball off of the ceiling, causing asbestos to rain down upon the concoction.
Acts of serendipity like this in technology and science aren’t just written by screenwriters; they do indeed happen in real life.
First, let me explain what serendipity actually is. According to Webster, serendipity is “an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidentally.” Don't you wish something like that happened more often to all of us? Imagine burning your toast one morning only to find out that your malfunctioning toaster could have been used as an alternate source of energy all along. Or maybe something a little more realistic like forgetting to wash your hands after chemistry lab and realizing that you've just created sweetener by doing so.The latter actually happened around 1879 with a chemist named Constantin Fahlberg. While searching for new uses for coal tar, Fahlberg accidentally spilled a chemical derivative on his hands. Instead of washing it off immediately, he continued tinkering in his laboratory before merrily going off to dinner, still with chemical-covered hands. While eating, he began to notice that everything he ate had a particular sweet taste to it, soon realizing that it was due to the chemical residue. Fahlberg patented saccharin not long after and it is now used in all sorts of products. So every time you use sweetener in your coffee or decide to have a diet coke, think of how a simple action such as not washing hands led to the creation of something considered so commonplace now.
And who knows? Maybe an accidental course of events will lead one of us to make an amazing and world-changing discovery in the future like it did Fahlberg.
Ishita,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I have to say that I really like your choice of using a creative title and having a bright, lively picture to start off your post. Lots of bloggers, myself included, tend to go for the easy way out and keep it plain and simple, and I've looked past many of those just because they gave off a boring impression, so great job on that regard.
I'm also a big fan of your example. Far too many times have I had to read the story of Alexander Fleming and the discovery of penicillin; your use of Constantin Fahlberg was a breath of fresh air from the overused cliche examples. On a side note, I have to say that I'm not sure what I think about sweeteners now. I don't know about other people, but uncleaned tar residue doesn't exactly spell out appetizing for me.
Nevertheless, great work! If you want, give my blog a look: http://english1101electronicblog.blogspot.com/.
-David Cheng, Section A4
Ishita,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very interesting. You grabbed my attention immediately by starting your post off with Malcolm in the Middle. Your post was also casual which is a good thing because the language you used allowed the post to flow well. You also used an example that no one else in our class has used, which broadened my knowledge of famous examples of serendipity.
-Danielle Overton
Ishita,
ReplyDeleteFirst off I have to say good job on bringing me in with the Malcolm in the Middle reference. It really caught my attention. Also I liked how you went from a comical current day situation to something historically relevant to the situation. I also liked how your picture went along with what you were talking about. I thought you organized it well and gave new perspective to everyday things. I never knew that about sugars, and I will consider not washing my hands now, all for the cause of science! (haha jk, but how cool would it be for that to happen like that again?) Good job!
Logan Carpenter - G5