How Innovation Happens: Serendipity vs Science in Technology

Detailed view of a jet engine under bright blue sky at Schiphol Airport, Netherlands.

Built by Accidents, Fixed by Breakage

Jet engines were honed by “running the device to destruction, analyzing what broke… and repeating.” Penicillin came from accidental lab contamination.

A sunlit industrial workshop with tools and materials scattered around creates a busy and artistic atmosphere.

Tech First, Explanation Later

Many technologies grew from engineering and tinkering, not from prior scientific theory. Explanations often followed the inventions.

How Innovation Happens: Serendipity vs Science in Technology

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