A serendipity is an unforeseen and chance discovery.
Serendipity is a term that is not part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ). The Urgent Spanish Foundation ( Fundéu BBVA ), however, affirms that its use is correct and suggests using it as a synonym for fluke ( carambola ).
The concept is linked to a discovery that is achieved in a casual and unexpected way , when in reality one was trying to find or get something different. Serendipity is also the quality of a person to notice that they have managed to discover an important thing, even if it does not have a link with what they were originally looking for.
History and example of serendipity
Serendipity comes from serendipity , an English term coined by the British writer and politician Horace Walpole in the mid- 18th century . Walpole was based on a Persian tale that takes place on the island of Serendip ( Ceylon ), in which the princes managed to solve various problems thanks to different coincidences .
An example of serendipity occurred with the medication known as Viagra . Doctors began testing this drug ( sildenafil citrate ) to treat angina and hypertension. The studies warned that its effect in the treatment of these conditions was limited, but they discovered that the drug generated persistent erections in those who took it. Thus, a pharmaceutical company took advantage of this serendipity and launched Viagra to combat erectile dysfunction .
Serendipity is often attributed to destiny or luck.
Its use in literature
At the level of literature , we speak of serendipity when a fiction writer writes about an event that he imagines and, some time later, the event happens in real life by chance.
There are several cases of literary serendipity that exist. However, there are three that are considered really curious and that have generated countless articles, comments and studies over time:
- In 1914 the writer Morgan Robertson published his work “Beyond the Spectrum” , in which he proposed a war between the United States and Japan and flying machines forcefully attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base.
- The same author of the previous case released his novel “Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan” in 1898 , which revolves around the shipwreck of a large ship called Titan that collides with an iceberg and sinks just during what It is his maiden voyage.
- In 1838 , the author Edgar Allan Poe presented his novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" , which tells how a ship suffers a shipwreck and only four people manage to save themselves, among whom is a young man named Richard Parker , who will be murdered by the rest to feed themselves. A case that became real almost fifty years later when a shipwreck happened and one of its survivors, named Richard Parker , was eaten by the others.
The movie "Serendipity"
In addition to all this, we cannot forget the existence of the 2001 film “ Serendipity,” directed by Peter Chelsom and starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale .
This romantic film tells how, by chance, a man and a woman meet. They both have a partner but that doesn't stop them from feeling something very special. However, they will decide that it will be destiny that must determine whether they will see each other again or not.