Serendipity
Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined by comedian Lee Mack, author Simon Singh and chemist Andrea Sella to look at how some of the serendipitous scientific discoveries came about.
Serendipity in Science
Brian Cox and Robin Ince are joined on stage by comedian Lee Mack, science author and journalist Simon Singh and chemist Professor Andrea Sella to look at how many of our biggest science discoveries seem to have come about by accident. From Viagra to Pyrex to the discovery of the Cosmic Background Microwave Radiation, the earliest remnant of the big bang, they all owe their discovery to a healthy dose of luck and accident as scientists stumbled across them in the course of looking for something else. So are these discoveries just luck, are they still deserving of Nobel prizes and scientific glory, or is serendipity and an open scientific mind key to exploring and understanding our universe?
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- Mon 23 Feb 2015 16:30BBC Radio 4
- Tue 24 Feb 2015 23:00BBC Radio 4
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