In a long essay on chance and creativity, Lewis Hyde writes about the Greek idea of hermaion, an accidental find, which is named after the God Hermes. Hyde finds accidental doesn’t quite catch it, he prefers ‘uncanny find’. And this type of uncanny find is really about finding, not searching (or buying or even stealing). Hyde concludes that:
Whoever the gods of fortune are, they will drop things in your path, but if you search for those things you will not find them. Wandering is the trick, and giving up on “loss” or “gain,” and then agility of mind.
Hyde, L. (1996). 'Two Accidents Reflections on Chance and Creativity'. The Kenyon Review, New Series, Vol. 18, No. 3/4, pp.19-35
