Serendipitous Innovation: The Microwave
According
to Nair (2014), part of the aftermath of World War II (WWII) was focused on the
wide-spread production of magnetron. Originally developed by the British,
magnetron technology was used by the Allies of WWII to support radar
transmissions. It was during this time that Percy Spencer, a United States
engineer employed at a magnetron production facility, stumbled upon something
unpredicted. While working on an active radar set, Spencer noticed that the
chocolate candy bar he had in his pocket began to melt. From there, Spencer
used the radar to test what would happen to popcorn and an egg, and following
some comical explosions, he continued to explore the possibilities. Spencer
eventually fashioned a metal box so that the magnetron could be contained inside.
The resulting high density electromagnetic field was demonstrated to quickly
raise the temperature of the input food. Soon, a patent was filed for the microwavable
cooking process and shortly thereafter, a Boston-based restaurant began using a
microwave oven to expedite their services.
What
does serendipity mean to me? As described by Van Andel (1994), serendipity is
the art of the unsought. It means paying attention to ones surrounding
environment, observing the little details, and being cognizant of changing
conditions. As such, it requires an open and perceptive mind.
Innovation from Error: The Pacemaker
Beck
et al. (2010) explained that the year was 1956 and Wilson Greatbatch, an
electrical engineer, was working to support the Chronic Disease Research Institute
in their cardiac research efforts. Greatbatch was tasked with the assembly of a
marker oscillator, a device meant to record the sounds of rapid heartbeats and
needed a ten-thousand-ohm resister to complete the circuit. However, instead of
grabbing the needed resister, Greatbatch mistakenly picked up the wrong one and
ended up installing a resistor of one million ohms into his device. At this
point, the oscillator turned on and began to operate in a rhythmic pattern,
producing short repetitive pulses with a resting interval of one second. Greatbatch
immediately recognized that the rate of these pulses was akin to that of the
human heart. Flash forward a few years later and after multiple tests and
fine-tunings, Greatbatch’s device was implanted into a human recipient to
overcome atrioventricular (AV) block and support normal cardiac functioning.
What
does an erroneous invention mean to me? Leveraging the insights of Deb (2020),
the only real mistake comes from a failure that is not viewed through a lens of
learning. Although it may not yield a new discovery, a research error can
inspire a new outlook or, at the very least, clarify a process unworthy of repetition.
As such, this type of innovation requires an optimistic outlook and a strong
work ethic that is undeterred by the prospect of setting out on new terrain.
Innovation from Exaptation: The Slinky Toy
Reif-Acherman
(2015) traced the origins of the Slinky to Richard James, a naval engineer,
working in a Philadelphia shipyard during the 1940s. The metal springs, created
by winding 20 meters of flexible flat steel wire into coils of about seven centimeters
in diameter, were designed to support and stabilize fragile pieces of nautical equipment
during times when a ship was fighting stormy sea conditions. As the story
holds, James accidentally knocked one of the springs off the shelf and, instead
of hitting the ground with a simple bounce, he witnessed it move across the
floor in a continuous end-over-end walking tumble. With some creative
marketing, the support coils were named Slinky, which according to Nair (2014)
means sleek and sinuous in Swedish, and launched as the “it” toy of the 1945
Christmas season.
What
does exaptation mean to me? Blending some of the concepts previously discussed,
repurposed inventions are the result of an open and dedicated mind that is not
afraid to break from the confines of an established mold. As such, it requires
creativity and initiative.
Reflections and Lessons Learned:
As
I ruminate upon the history of these happy accidents and the literature surrounding
their discoveries, I find that a resonating quote by Louis Pasteur really helps
to guide my reflections: “chance only favors the prepared mind.” The three
presented examples, while each reflective of a slightly different turn of
events, share many common themes. For example, unanticipated outcomes are transformed
into useful innovations only when they are thoughtfully and thoroughly pursued.
Each of the described discoveries all required further research and/or modifications
to reach their most successful state. This is important to highlight because,
as noted by Friedel (2001), simply attributing the innovations to pure chance
diminishes the hard work and other positive characteristics embedded within the
process. Chance alone can only do so much; sincerity, perseverance, creativity,
and intuition come together to do the rest.
References
Beck, H., Boden,
W. E., Patibandla, S., Kireyev, D., Gupta, V., Campagna, F., … & Marine, J.
E. (2010). 50th anniversary of the first successful permanent pacemaker
implantation in the United States: Historical review and future directions. The
American Journal of Cardiology, 106(6), 810-818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjcard.2010.04.043
Deb, T. (2020).
Failed inventions. Science Reporter, (Nov-2020), 14-19.
http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/55543
Friedel, R. (2001).
Serendipity is no accident. The Kenyon Review, 23(2), 36-47. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4338198
Nair, A. G. R.
(2014). Accidental discoveries. Vetri Education, 9 (2), 45-55.
http://vetrieducation.herokuapp.com/Vetri%20Journal/Vetri_Journal_vol9_2.pdf
Reif-Acherman, S.
(2015). Toys as teaching tools in engineering: The case of Slinky. Ingeniería
y Competitividad, 17(2), 111-122. http://www.scielo.org.co/pdf/inco/v17n2/v17n2a11.pdf
Van Andel, P. (1994).
Anatomy of the unsought finding. Serendipity: Origin, history, domains,
traditions, appearances, patterns and programmability. British Journal for
the Philosophy of Science, 45(2), 631-648. http://www.jstor.org/stable/687687
Yaqub, O. (2018). Serendipity: Towards a taxonomy and a theory. Research Policy, 47(1), 169-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2017.10.007
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