Accidental Thinking: A Model of Serendipity’s Cognitive Processes
Wendy Ross
Abstract:Serendipity captures the interaction between a skilled human agent and a fortuitous event in the environment. Although it features in many stories of invention and discovery, its antecedents remain elusive. This paper combines research from different domains of psychology to present a model of the cognitive processes required for a serendipitous episode to occur. The model describes a prepared mind that consists of an informational state and an attentional state. Both states are considered as dynamic rather th… Show more
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