Serendipity
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[edit] SERENDIPITY
The ability to make unexpected and fortunate discoveries.
This word has been around for more than two centuries, but only really began to be used much in the twentieth century, to the extent that the adjective serendipitous is not recorded before the 1950s. Horace Walpole coined it in a letter he wrote to his long-time diplomat friend Horace Mann in 1754. He told him that he invented it in reference to the title of an old Persian fairy story The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes regularly discovered pleasant things that they weren’t searching for. But I’m told that if you read the story you will find that the princes were actually well educated and intelligent men. Their good fortune (which was a bit slap-dash: they got thrown in jail as suspected camel thieves at one point) was based on careful deduction, not chance. As the saying has it, “fortune favours the prepared mind”, just as discoveries today that are said to be serendipitous are so often the result of experience and good observation. The three princes came from a country the Persians called Sarandib but which we now know as Sri Lanka , or in earlier times Ceylon. The Persian is a corruption of the Sanskrit Sinhaladvipa, “the island where lions dwell”, hence the name Sinhala or Sinhalese for the most commonly spoken Sri Lankan language.
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Serendipity is finding something unexpected and useful while searching for something else entirely. For instance, the discovery of the antibacterial properties of penicillin by Alexander Fleming is said to have been serendipitous, because he was merely cleaning up his laboratory when he discovered that the Penicillium mould had contaminated one of his old experiments.
The word was coined by Horace Walpole in 1754, from the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip. (Serendip is an old Persian name for Sri Lanka.) The episode in the story involves a case of spectacular abductive reasoning (as used by Sherlock Holmes), which later leads to unsought "serendipitous" rewards from the king.
Serendipity is used as a sociological method in Anselm L. Strauss' and Barney G. Glasers Grounded Theory, building on ideas by sociologist Robert K. Merton, who in Social Theory and Social Structure (1949) claimed that serendipity was an Indian concept.
This word has been voted as one of the ten English words that were hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company. However, due to its sociological use, the word has been imported into many other languages (Portuguese serendipicidade or serendipidade; French sérendipicité or sérendipité; Spanish serendipia; Italian serendipità; Dutch serendipiteit).
[edit] Serendipitous discoveries and inventions
- Alexander Fleming's discovery of penicillin
- The discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation
- Alfred Nobel's discovery of blasting gelatin
- The discovery of polyethylene
- The invention of Silly Putty
- The invention of Post-it notes
- The discovery of the psychedelic effects of LSD by Dr. Albert Hofmann
- The discovery of the Americas by Christopher Colombus (a stupid person who was looking for a western route to Asia and died still convinced that his journeys had been along the east coast of Asia)
There is also a very popular restaurant located in New York City, New York known as Serendipity 3. Serendipity 3 is known for their delectable Frozen Hot Chocolate. This sweet treat was mentioned on an episode of Oprah, and gained some of its popularity from that.
[edit] Origin of the term
The fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip is based upon the life of Persian king Bahram Gur who ruled the Sasanian Empire from ca. 420-440 AD. Stories of his rule are told in epic poetry of the region (Firdausi's Shahnameh 1010 AD, Nizami's Haft Paykar 1197 AD, Khusrau's Hasht Bihisht 1302 AD), parts of which are based upon historical facts with embellishments derived from folklore going back hundreds of years to oral traditions in India and The Book of One Thousand and One Nights. With the exception of the well-known camel story, English translations are very hard to come by.
In the camel story, the Three Princes use trace clues to precisely identify a camel they have never seen (lame; blind in one eye; missing a tooth; carrying a pregnant maiden; bearing honey on one side and butter on the other). This result of abductive reasoning is not what is meant by serendipity (the discovery of something NOT sought). Because of their cleverness and sagacity, they are accused of stealing the camel and are about to be put to death by Bahram Gur. Suddenly and without anyone seeking him out, a traveler steps forward to say that he has just seen the missing camel wandering in the desert. Bahram spares the lives of the Three Princes, lavishes them with rich rewards and appoints them as advisors. These rewards are the unsought (serendipitous) results of their sagacious insights.
There are other examples of the Princes receiving unsought rewards (marriage to a beautiful princess, kingdoms, wealth, etc.) from their accidental discoveries. The fact that they can make clever or accidental discoveries and breakthroughs is a result of their intelligence, wisdom and reasoning. The unsought rewards come later. Thus, stumbling upon a captive slave girl in a forest is a serendipitous occurrence. Deducing that the slave girl they rescued is actually a Princess is not the serendipitous moment – rather, this occurs later when they receive lavish gifts as a reward.
More contemporaneously, because we put great value on scientific breakthroughs and insights themselves (e.g., the waxy polymer residue (Teflon) in an uncooperative gas cylinder), these are considered to be the unsought serendipitous rewards of clever reasoning, hard work and luck.
[edit] Related terms
William Boyd coined the term zemblanity to mean somewhat the opposite of serendipity: "making unhappy, unlucky and expected discoveries occurring by design".references for fact,sources,resources,etc to give credit to: It derives from Novaya Zemlya (or Nova Zembi), a cold, barren land with many features opposite to the lush Sri Lanka (Serendip).
Bahramdipity is derived directly from Bahram Gur as characterized in the "Three Princes of Serendip". It describes the suppression of serendipitous discoveries or research results by powerful individuals.
[edit] Bibliography
- Robert K. Merton, Elinor Barber: The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity : A Study in Sociological Semantics and the Sociology of Science. Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN 0691117543.
- Royston M. Roberts: Serendipity: Accidental Discoveries in Science. Wiley, 1989. ISBN 0471602035
- Pek Van Andel: "Anatomy of the unsought finding : serendipity: origin, history, domains, traditions, appearances, patterns and programmability." British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 1994, 45(2), 631-648.
[edit] From the Christian POV
- Perhaps one wonder why a Christian who is a real follower of Jesus has never thought of this word<serendipity>, just that the followers of Jesus always will discover God's will in respect to the future and one’s destiny.
- This is one word which the non-believer find it hard to believe since by far, most arrogantly refused that God is still in charge of their <our> lives, and matters of history whether one acknowledges Him or not!
- Stupid is what stupid does when it come out with stupidity or serendipity!!!
- Have you heard of a Miss Serendipity having to renounce Canadian birth rights to become a true Singaporean? goto see dual citizenship
- Even King David knew about this walk, as he wrote: I would be discouraged unless I believe to see God in the land of the living..
- Even King David knew about this walk, as he wrote: I would be discouraged unless I believe to see God in the land of the living..
- And the writer to the book among the Jewish believers <Hebrews> stated explicitly, Without faith it is impossible to please God...he<believer> must believe the He< God alongside U> is...
- And the writer to the book among the Jewish believers <Hebrews> stated explicitly, Without faith it is impossible to please God...he<believer> must believe the He< God alongside U> is...
[edit] Answers from A - Z
ppl who worship idols- ozardland
- usa.comereasonwiMeStop.lying
- ouksee
- sgunderstand
& Moses said, come out from among them..unless U be consumed by fire!
[edit] A Prayer today
Allah the Great Wonderful Creator
Father of All mankind
We bow down as we poor humanity
Please forgive us
as we continue to fight and kill
our own kindred - brothers and sisters
Many died because of no reason except those
who tried to put wrong thoughts in our foolish mindsets
displeasing to Thy All seeing Eye
Holy Father, forgive us all who lack understanding
Please help us to understand that we
All men and women on earth are truly brothers and sisters
All of us poor humanity need to trust in
Thy Greatness and serendipitously allow Thee, and know and believe
Thy unseen Hand to move us
to Love, trust one another be
Pleasing in Thy sight!
Our leaders are blinded by selfishness
and the unfortunate evil thoughts and wrong plans.
Even perpetually deceiving themselves and people all over the world.
Once we came from the same family
Now we are split in many unruly factions
- ==Many still blinded by ignorance==,
That is why we are a great displeasure to Thyself
Please have mercy on us
Allow us time to repent
and bow down in faith with understanding
To return back to worship Thee
and regain peace
and harmony among ourselves
again..Help us to forgive one another
Especially for the friends and family who lost loved ones
So it be Amen
[edit] Free Bible correspondence courses..[[2]]
[edit] Allah
- see the root word and its meaning: [[3]]
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[edit] Legacy for lying to us 40 years?
So far there is no absolute proofs that the American has ever set foot on the moon! They (CIA,NASA) did it all in movies, newspapers, and TVs however the scientific proofs are totally lacking.
At sgwiki we understand it as the great deception initiated by NASA and such aa a great hoax is only possible with the Americans in the last decade or in 19th Century ever! A great deception even lasted to our own times.
The Apollo 11 moon landing, whose 40th anniversary is celebrated this week, is still unsurpassed as a symbol of technological achievement. Visitors to Washington DC’s National Air and Space Museum can see the command module up close, and visitors to the Science Museum in London can see the very similar Apollo 10 version. Being this near to the spaceship defies belief: it looks more like a contraption from the steam age than the space age. Did this thing really go around the moon and come home again?
sources[[4]]
goto to see Neil Armstrong..half lying..or confessions of a liar! how_to_lie in space.. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/z17WsAOgf4U&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/z17WsAOgf4U&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Confessions is good for their soul, so they (old 70s & 80s making their voices again..
hehehe..no more going to the lunar institution again, try see..Neil ArmstrongTruth under protective layers..Kissinger..It was BIG and only American could have done it..Nixon..Did they go to the moon or not?..Picture of an Alien foot print on the moon lunar surface..
[edit] THE DARK COMING OUT INTO THE light
[[<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ivU7WObCFzs&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ivU7WObCFzs&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>]]
OR GOTO CUT * PASTE TO ANOTHER BROWSER..[[<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ivU7WObCFzs&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ivU7WObCFzs&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>]]
- GOTO[[5]]
- GOTO[[5]]
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wdMvQTNLaUE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wdMvQTNLaUE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
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From the Koranic verse: Deaf, dumb (and) blind, so they will not turn back.
{the way of liars)
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[edit] [[If U think u read the newspapers because U r educated, just think those who never read the papers yet better educated by far than a lot of {ppl]
[edit] to Google
[edit] What is the Will of God?
FOR ALL UNBELEVERS there is only one option OPEN for THEM to follow (while they still live and their accounts are open)
Finding God's will is finding your destiny here on earth in relation to eternity...that is your purpose here! therefore you will need a new mindset..
- Then we (one &all) can become missionary to reach out the Lost!
The fellowship of believers
If they die unrepented..then the judgment awaits..for them according to the Book of Life
..FINDING THE will OF God for yourself>>>listen to this sermon FROM..1st Thessalonians 4:3 (New International Version) New International Version (NIV) 3..It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;
[edit] [[6]]..
However, this is perhaps one of the most confusing matters for any Christians alive. It often takes years of trying before one arrived at the truth of this matters, i.e. What exactly is this will of God for a Christian?
Outside the Holy Bible(the scriptures), we have very little light on this matters, as Christians we take it as the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit as it were written for us with the instructions for how to find the will of God, and how to follow it.
First of all, the Will of God is not a Stereotype program as it were in codes for anyone Christians to download and follow. No it is a relationship with God or Jesus as Lord after receiving Him as Savior and then Lord <as they so discovered along the serendipitous road of walking towards God's center of His will> or better still as both Lord and Savior from day one of your Christian walk. It obviously starts with your commitment to follow Jesus. The Bible is an instruction book to help any Christian to walk in following Jesus.
Secondly as I myself discovered for myself it is also a life of faith. Since as it is a relationship, and a living one, we as Christians, must understand that God is here-Now alongside with us, and we can choose to follow Him as we walk along in life. As we intelligently by faith trust Him <Lord Jesus as Master> we will find it open to many new things as we walk along. WE will see things and events and people as in the view as God sees, and acknowledge as truth within the innermost of our soul and spirit.
- goto see worldviews
goto serendipity and see the idea too!
edit..>
[[7]]
Thirdly it is a relationship based upon our voluntary acceptance of God's choice for our life. This is clearly taught by the Apostle Paul in all his writings and among all the early Apostles who followed Jesus as their Guru or Teacher. Paul wrote in 1 Thess. 4:3, this is the will of God= even your sanctification.
That long sacred word simply means set apart unto God or in one word meaning as we become followers of Jesus we became God's people set apart unto holiness which really is God's possessions. So it is really a matter of surrendering our human will voluntary to God's divine choice. Therefore in life’s' circumstances, we can and voluntary set to follow God in the many choices we have made available by our own education, our relationships with other people and our circumstances as conducted by the trend of our community and society at large.
- Perhaps at this point you may want to download and listen to the voice of a Preacher as he expounded on this matters of the will of God further here on the Internet>>>Goto Finding the Will of God 1st Thessalonians 4:3 then clik on the voice download [[8]] Messages by Ray Stedman
[edit] References
- Boyd, William. Armadillo, Chapter 12, Knopf, New York, 1998. ISBN 0375402233
- Sommer, Toby J. "'Bahramdipity' and Scientific Research", The Scientist, 1999, 13(3), 13. http://www.the-scientist.com/yr1999/feb/opin_990201.html
- Sommer, Toby J. "Bahramdipity and Nulltiple Scientific Discoveries," Science and Engineering Ethics, 2001, 7(1), 77-104. (Free download) [[9]]
[edit] External links
- Polymers & Serendipity: Case Studies -- rayon, nylon, and more examples in chemistry
- Max - A software agent built to induce serendipity.
- The Three Princes of Serendip – one version of the story.



