Serendipity
- “what does serendipity mean”
- “is serendipity just luck”
- “who invented the word serendipity”
- “serendipity vs coincidence”
01 · Side by side
Side by side
Comparison sheet
| Aspect | Serendipity | Luck |
|---|---|---|
| Requires alertness | Yes | No |
| Requires not-seeking | Yes | No |
| Can be cultivated | Partly | No |
| Walpole would allow it | Yes | No |
02 · Which one you meant
Which one did you mean?
In shortReaders who land here meaning Serendipity rather than Luck are usually searching for phrases like “what does serendipity mean”, “is serendipity just luck”, “who invented the word serendipity”.
03 · The mix-up
Where the confusion comes from
The mix-up“Serendipity means a happy accident — good luck.”
What's true
Walpole's definition has two required ingredients. The princes were 'always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of'. Sagacity — the wit to interpret the accident — is not optional. His own example: one prince deduced a mule was blind in the right eye because the grass had been eaten only on the left side of the road. That is inference, not fortune. Walpole called the process 'accidental sagacity'.
04 · Read either one