many important discoveries or creations are accidental: it is usually while seeking the answer to one question that we come across the answer to another.

The author presents us a claim that there are many important discoveries which are accidental and that happened because in pursuit of answer to a specific problem, the researcher gets solution of some other issue. I also believe that there is truth behind this claim. History stands testimony of few such examples. I would like to elaborate on few of them.

Penicillin, which is a revolutionary drug now used as an indispensable component of different kind of antibiotics, was discovered accidentally. Dr. Fleming, while performing his research to find a cure for Staphylococci. During his research, he left for few days on vacation and when he returned, he found a strange type of fungus on the culture he left behind. That fungus killed all the bacteria and thereby Fleming came across this path-breaking drug.

Another example is Microwave oven. Percy Spencer, while working in Raytheon, accidentally walked across Magnetron, a vacuum tube which emits microwave, and noticed that a candy in his pocket melted. This led him to further investigate on this weird behavior and later he discovered that microwave can be used for heating edible items. Further research and development in that field fostered commercial availability of appliances we now known as Microwave ovens.

Although history has some testaments to support the claim that many discoveries are accidental however most of the discoveries are planned. Thousands of patents are filed every year, which is a rough estimate of new discoveries. Had there been thousand accidental discoveries every year, we would have numerous fortuitous inventions, which is not the case. Invention of computer, design of the fastest car, Vaccination of deadly Polio virus, Hubble space research laboratory etc. all are examples of planned discoveries. So it is not necessary that while sorting out a problem, researchers will always find answer to other question.

Clubbing up all the points I can conclude that it is true that while finding solution to a problem can serendipitously produce solution for different issue however it is not the case which happens frequently. This is just a mere coincidence which can be justified by some examples from the history.