CHAPTER 4
Channeling Chance
What is hidden and unknown and cannot be discovered by scientific research will most likely be discovered by accident, if at all, by the one who is most observing of everything related thereto.
—CHARLES GOODYEAR
AN ACCIDENTAL INVENTION is a paradox of sorts. On one level, almost everything associated with the invention of something new seems to occur by happenstance. On another level, however, it seems that very little is accidental about accidental inventions. These mistakes tend to happen to the right people in the right place at the right time. We all know how important serendipity is for the success of almost everything, but we rarely explore this dual nature of chance.
Even the three princes of Serendip weren’t ...
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