The social context of serendipity: Hallam Stevens at TEDxNTU

Discoveries and inventions are often attributed to chance or luck. Historical accounts tend to emphasize that scientists and inventors simply had the right brains in the right time and the right place. However, closer attention to the social and cultural contexts of discoveries and inventions can reveal how they are usually highly relevant and appropriate to the times and places that they occur. Albert Einstein's discovery of the special theory of relativity, Henri Becquerel's discovery of radioactivity, and the invention of Viagra were not merely lucky accidents -- they emerged because the individuals involved were searching for specific solutions to specific social, cultural, political, and technical problems.

Hallam Stevens is a historian of science and technology whose research focuses on
the intersection between the life sciences and information technology. This nexus is the subject of his monograph -- Life out of sequence: a data driven history of bioinformatics -- published by University of Chicago Press in November 2013. Hallam
is currently completing two other books: a textbook on the history of biotechnology
and an edited volume characterizing 'postgenomic' biology. His on-going research examines the impact of genomics and data-driven technologies on the production of
biological knowledge in Asia.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)