Araya Messa

Colorado Technical University

Instructor:  Dr Cynthia Calongne

 

April 10, 2021

 

Unit4-DB2

In this discussion board we will define the discovery terminologies, Serendipity, Error, and Exaptation, and give some examples for each discovery. 

1.     Provide an innovation example for discoveries that are achieved through the following:

·       Serendipity: Big Bang by Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias and Penicillin by Dr. Alexander Fleming

·       Error: Pacemaker by assistant professor Wilson Greatbatch

·       Exaptation: bird feathers for flight

2.     In your own words, what do these terms mean to you? Give an example of each term in your experience or that you have read about.

a.       Serendipity:

This is a discovery that inventions are accidentally invented. This means when people invent innovative and new products that they do not even plan for it at all. Inventors are those that we regard them with high respect: the bright individuals who imagine that most of us even do not think of (Nield, 2016). However, half of all patented inventions found unpredictably (Nield, 2016). In 1960, astronomers Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias observed some odd and annoying "noise" from their large antenna while seeing the space between galaxies to measure the brightness of the sky with their radio telescope (McFadden, 2020). They also noted that the strange lively sound seemed to be everywhere they pointed their device. What they had unintentionally tripped upon was the galactic microwave background which is the leftover radiation from the "Big Bang" (McFadden, 2020). They were awarded the Nobel Prize for their discovery. Since then, it has become a universally agreed theory that states the universe began 13.8 billion years ago with the Big Bang.

b.      Errors: 

              Scientists, innovators, researchers, etc. usually set their detailed plan and procedures to invent or find a new thing or idea. They are not however always successful to accomplish what they intend. There is a time that they fail. However, their failure probably opens to another opportunity of unintended discovery. Turning mistakenly found incident into another scientific discovery is called a discovery from an error.  Scientists strongly suggest one need not to fear failures but need to learn from their failure. For instance, assistant professor Wilson Greatbatch invented Pacemaker after his project at the University of Buffalo rejected. He designed 10, 000 ohm of box to use on a heart-recording prototype that caused a circuit produced a signal that sounded 1.8 milliseconds, and then paused for a second — a dead ringer for the human heart (www.drugline.org).  This is now largely used for the people who have heart problem specifically those that have heart-beat issue.

c.       Exaptation: 

The term was first given by Stephen Jay Gould and Elisabeth Vrba in 1982 (Tam, 2018). The idea of exaptation is not limited to only evolutionary biology. It explains a process that extends to other new innovations such as technological progress. The best example here is the bird feather, that it eventually helps them to fly. The feather was not originally for flight but to warm themselves. Through evolution the feather developed to assist them to fly. This borrowing from old part and develop to new function also works in technology. Corning Inc. used its innovations and expertise in glass technologies to yield ground-breaking research in fiber optics, which transformed the world of telecommunications. The concept of exaptation offers valuable insight into the patterns of innovation which can lead to creative breakthroughs over time.

 

Reference:

1. Nield, D., (2016). Statistics Show Half of All Inventions Happen by Accident. https://www.sciencealert.com/the-statistics-say-half-of-all-inventions-happen-by-accident.

2.       McFadden, C., (2020). 15 Accidental Science Discoveries That Changed the World.     

https://interestingengineering.com/15-accidental-science-discoveries-that-changed-the-    world & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPalHdzsImc&t=84s.

3. Tam, M., (2018).  Patterns of Innovation: How Exaptation Can Lead to Creative Breakthroughs. https://medium.com/asia-p3-hub-updates/patterns-of-innovation-how-exaptation-can-lead-to-creative-breakthroughs-d7a0a3641d8c.

4.       www.drugline.org.