Robert S. Root-Bernstein, in The Sciences (May-June 1988), New York Academy of Sciences, 2 East 63rd St., New York, N.Y. 10021.
A common truism about science is that many great discoveries occur as a result of fortunate accidents. Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), for ex- ample, is said to have discovered the bacteria-killing enzyme lysozyme (present in tears, mucus, and saliva) after drippings from his nose killed germs in a Petri dish Fleming was examining.
Such "accidents" have led...