Resolving Serendipity

The first day of the New Year is in the books. In retrospect it didn't look much different than most of the days of the last year. But the sameness that aids-and-abets sanity and stability shouldn't be used as a shield against serendipity.

Most of us do a good job structuring our days (you have a to-do list?) and committing to our habits. It gives us a sense of control in what is otherwise a whirlwind. From the moment I bought my first Palm Pilot from Jeff Hawkins' mom at Agenda, I have been sensitive to the power of the PDA to allow us to exert even more control; and wirelessly. But there is a cost.

Personal technology gives us the sense that we can manage the chaos out of our day. The BlackBerry (sorry, Jeff) is essential, nipping business problems in the bud and spotting opportunities that appear as mere specks on the horizon by turning e.mail into real-time communication. Tivo is indespensible, allowing us to timeshift television so that we can watch what we want to watch -- on our schedule. Primetime at 2 a.m. is a blow against the man! iPods are palliative, allowing us to tune in to what we want to hear even as we tune out what we might hear. Taken together, they let us do more in a day that anyone thought possible even five years ago. Think about 10.

But setting the parameters of our devices may do as much to isolate us as it does to help us cope. We can only set parameters based on what we know now. What about the Rumsfeldian "unknown unknowns?" How do we give ourselves a chance to benefit from chance if we program our devices and our lives -- personal and professional -- for control? How can we, on this first day of the New Year, resolve to encourage serendipity?

Oh, it happens now from time-to-time. Talking to strangers on a line at the airport, DMV or Best Buy can yield some prettty good insights into customer service and product quality. Listening to the radio in the cab, at the hair cuttery or coffee shop can introduce new music and ideas from the other end of the political spectrum. Watching the ads that support free televison or the programs actually on at 2 a.m. are reminders that it truly does take all kinds.

But building serendipity into our devices is a lot more difficult. Even the RSS feeds we request, from mediated sources or the unruly blogosphere, don't rise to the level of "learning by accident." We can turn our devices off; for a few hours at first, then a day, then a weekend. But Monday comes.

The trick might be in that serendipity requires we be open to it ("if a tree falls in the forest..."). It only makes sense. And even though we have five senses. we mostly rely on a sixth -- talking. What would happen if we resolved to bring the first five to bear on our day? I think the chance to benefit from seredipity would increase five-fold while the ability to manage our days would not diminish a bit.

I am counting on it starting tomorrow.