Abstract

The concept of serendipity has captivated people’s attention for ages, from stories of serendipitous scientific discoveries to movies about lost and found loves to a renowned coffee shop in New York City. Serendipity can greatly influence the paths we take and the outcomes of our lives. The authors of the book Serendipity Science have also shown that serendipity is a thriving and expanding field of academic research. In this Epilogue, Sanda Erdelez, renowned serendipity researcher and early proponent of its rigorous study in Information Sciences, reflects on her experience as a researcher from her first work with information-encountering until today. In particular Erdelez cautions us to consider carefully about how serendipity can be used to promote surpriseSurprise and good feelings without the accompanying valueValue. While cultivating serendipity seems a priori a valuable thing to do, like other human tendencies, our desire to be pleasantly surprised can lead us astray.