From the sex lives of screwworms to invincible milk maids, some of the world’s most ground breaking discoveries were born out of peculiar studies and happy accidents. Scientific innovation might better be associate with the word “oops” than “eureka.” Serendipitous and Accidental discoveries are responsible for some of the most influential scientific discoveries in the past century like the small pox vaccination and anticoagulants, many of which are medicinal innovations that have saved and or improved billions of lives.
In 1975 Senator William Proxmire created the “Golden Fleece Awards,” which targeted federally funded programs that Promxmire considered to be a waste of money. Many of these programs were what in lay terms might be called “weird science.” The attitude that peculiar scientific research is a wasteful investment is unfortunately a popular one, which leads to condemnation or marginalization of research that could lead to innovative breakthroughs.
In response to this attitude, new awards and grants have emerged to counteract the attack on odd science. Awards like the “Golden Mole Awards” and the “Golden Goose Awards” recognize science and scientists who have made major socially relevant discoveries through curiosity driven research or accidental happenstance. These awards intend to highlight that scientific gold can be found in the most unlikely of places and therefore investment in research projects that seem ridiculous may have positive implications for the human population.
One of the basic characteristics of science is that it is an unpredictable pursuit to explain the unknown and often strange phenomena that we see in the world around us. So instead of labeling this type of scientific research as strange or economically wasteful, we should see it more like serendipity. You may not see the benefits coming, but once they’re here, it is impressive.