Serendipity--its basis and importance.

Horace Walpole (1717-1797) coined the term serendipity in 1754 in allusion to an ancient oriental legend of the "Three Princes of Serendip". Since about one century this term has been discussed in literary history; for almost 50 years medical writers have made use of it. Today, serendipity is understood as the ability to make discoveries not purposely searched for - the greater the knowledge, the more likely the discovery.