The Serendipity of Glitches. Haunted by Glitches as a method for providing serendipitous discoveries to scientific research.

Abstract

Haunted by Glitches is a method being developed that requires the user to act unconventionally, respond to glitches and failures as a positive input, and share discoveries that come up along the way. As part of the development, this essay is made to explore its actual usability to help specifically scientific research through the question: How may the method Haunted by Glitches, applied by artists, be of use to scientific research? Through the explanation of Haunted by Glitches and its background in the concept of glitch, while also arguing for its usability via the concept of serendipity, this essay explores two case studies. One of Team Rolfes and a dancer accidentally kicking off a motion capture sensor, and one of Edward Belbruno using painting to create a new way for orbital space travel. The results show that all aspects of Haunted by Glitches show promise for creating serendipitous discoveries, which is something that has played a role in many significant scientific discoveries.