Abstract

Serendipity has always been an attendant to great science. Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered the cosmic background radiation after first mistaking it for the effect of pigeon droppings on their microwave antenna. US spy satellites detected gamma-ray bursts when surveying the sky for evidence of secret Soviet nuclear tests during the Cold War. Satyendra Bose arrived at Bose–Einstein statistics only after discovering that a mathematical error explained the experimental data concerning the photoelectric effect. In the words of science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov, “The most exciting phrase in science is not ‘Eureka!’, but rather, ‘That's funny…’.

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