Ted Gup's "The End of Serendipity" relates a conflict between finding exactly what you searched for and finding exactly what you did not. The idea involves excess knowledge versus exact knowledge. It is the comparison between a complete encyclopedia set--text version versus CD-ROM version. It seems that the classic appeal of serendipity, defined by Webster's New World Dictionary as "the making of lucky discoveries by chance," is no longer as important as it once was, and chance discovery is becoming tragically obsolete in the areas of reference and research.

According to Gup, there is "sheer joy [in] finding what [you] have not sought" (252); flipping through the pages of a book and uncovering things you were unaware of moments earlier. The advancement of technology and the finely tuned accuracy of search mechanisms reduces the possibility of chance findings. Type in a subject and it is the only subject that will appear. I remember my family's set of The World Book Encyclopedia, which makes it easy for me to relate to Gup. The inescapable pages that are explored before finding the intended subject are unplanned yet appreciated. Materials outside of texts are "oblivious to the pleasures and rewards of serendipity" (252).

Gup feels the CD-ROM versions of encyclopedias and other electronic forms of reference resources make it less likely to run accidentally across extra information. When looking up a subject on a computer program or on the Internet, the word or phrase is typed in the search box. The program only shows the results of the subjects that are asked for. World Wide Web search engines are honing in more and more on typed-in subjects as well. Fortuitous knowledge is a thing of a past.

We always seem to strive for the tools that work perfectly, but "this ability to filter what reaches us has been hailed as an unqualified good" (250). When using sources like the Internet or CD-ROM encyclopedia programs, there is such a thing as being too perfect, making it less beneficial to users because of its lack of breadth.

Gup, Ted. "The End of Serendipity." CyberReader. 2nd ed.  Ed. Victor J. Vitanza.  Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1999.  250-252.