LEADER 05074nam 2200721 a 450 001 9910464077703321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a1-283-33991-9 010 $a1-4008-4152-6 010 $a9786613339911 024 7 $a10.1515/9781400841523 035 $a(CKB)3230000000000999 035 $a(EBL)804872 035 $a(OCoLC)774285488 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000667967 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11391354 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000667967 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10697397 035 $a(PQKB)10767493 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC804872 035 $a(OCoLC)268794883 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse37056 035 $a(DE-B1597)447106 035 $a(OCoLC)1054879866 035 $a(OCoLC)979954412 035 $a(DE-B1597)9781400841523 035 $a(PPN)170259676 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL804872 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10514800 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL333991 035 $a(EXLCZ)993230000000000999 100 $a20030612d2004 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 14$aThe travels and adventures of serendipity$b[electronic resource] $ea study in sociological semantics and the sociology of science /$fRobert K. Merton, Elinor Barber 205 $aCourse Book 210 $aPrinceton, N.J. $cPrinceton University Press$dc2004 215 $a1 online resource (590 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-691-12630-5 311 $a0-691-11754-3 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and indexes. 327 $tFront matter --$tContents --$tPreface --$tPublisher's Note /$rDougherty, Peter J. --$tIntroduction /$rShulman, James L. --$tChapter 1. The Origins of Serendipity --$tChapter 2. Early Diffusion of Serendipity --$tChapter 3. Accidental Discovery in Science: Victorian Opinion --$tChapter 4. Stock Responses to Serendipity --$tChapter 5. The Qualities of Serendipity --$tChapter 6. Dictionaries and "Serendipity" --$tChapter 7. The Social History of Serendipity --$tChapter 8. Moral Implications of Serendipity --$tChapter 9. The Diverse Significance of Serendipity in Science --$tChapter 10. Serendipity as Ideology and Politics of Science --$tA Note on Serendipity as a Political Metaphor --$tA Note on Serendipity in the Humanities --$tAfterword: Autobiographical Reflections on The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity /$rMerton, Robert K. --$tSelect References --$tName Index --$tGeneral Index 330 $aFrom the names of cruise lines and bookstores to an Australian ranch and a nudist camp outside of Atlanta, the word serendipity--that happy blend of wisdom and luck by which something is discovered not quite by accident--is today ubiquitous. This book traces the word's eventful history from its 1754 coinage into the twentieth century--chronicling along the way much of what we now call the natural and social sciences. The book charts where the term went, with whom it resided, and how it fared. We cross oceans and academic specialties and meet those people, both famous and now obscure, who have used and abused serendipity. We encounter a linguistic sage, walk down the illustrious halls of the Harvard Medical School, attend the (serendipitous) birth of penicillin, and meet someone who "manages serendipity" for the U.S. Navy. The story of serendipity is fascinating; that of The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity, equally so. Written in the 1950's by already-eminent sociologist Robert Merton and Elinor Barber, the book--though occasionally and most tantalizingly cited--was intentionally never published. This is all the more curious because it so remarkably anticipated subsequent battles over research and funding--many of which centered on the role of serendipity in science. Finally, shortly after his ninety-first birthday, following Barber's death and preceding his own by but a little, Merton agreed to expand and publish this major work. Beautifully written, the book is permeated by the prodigious intellectual curiosity and generosity that characterized Merton's influential On the Shoulders of Giants. Absolutely entertaining as the history of a word, the book is also tremendously important to all who value the miracle of intellectual discovery. It represents Merton's lifelong protest against that rhetoric of science that defines discovery as anything other than a messy blend of inspiration, perspiration, error, and happy chance--anything other than serendipity. 606 $aSerendipity in science 606 $aScience$xSocial aspects 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aSerendipity in science. 615 0$aScience$xSocial aspects. 676 $a501 686 $aMS 6950$2rvk 700 $aMerton$b Robert King$f1910-2003.$049256 701 $aBarber$b Elinor G$0150424 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910464077703321 996 $aThe travels and adventures of serendipity$92474109 997 $aUNINA