Serendipity Papers

Short essays highlighting recently published work in serendipity studies.

Serendipity and Zemblanity

Diverging paths from unexpected events

Happy Accidents vs. Engineered Encounters

Rethinking serendipity in the age of AI

Feeling Your Way Through Serendipity

How emotion and energy guide entrepreneurs through unexpected encounters

Nele Marie Terveen

Serendipity in Recommender Systems

A flavorful concept

Two Faces of Serendipity: From Prospective to Retrospective Explanation

How chance discoveries both spark and explain scientific breakthroughs

Matteo Costa and Selene Arfini

Accidental Thinking

A model of serendipity's cognitive processes

Demystifying Serendipity: The Mundane Work Behind Breakthrough Discoveries

How ordinary practices lay the foundation for extraordinary innovation

Susan Hilbolling and Pernille Smith

The Serendipity Papers initiative was launched in February 2026. New entries will be posted on regular basis.
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Would you like to suggest a paper to be featured in the Serendipity Papers collection? Submit it here.

This is initiative is coordinated by Annelien Smets.

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