A great part of knowledge is gained through surprise; it’s the way you first learn about the world. When something astonishes a baby, like an object not behaving the way it is expected to, the infant learns more about it than from a similar predictable object.

A study on 11-month-old babies showed one group a ball rolling down a ramp that was stopped by a wall, while the other group observed the same situation but with the ball magically going right through it. The surprising ball encouraged infants to learn new information significantly better and to explore it more than the toys that didn’t do anything unusual. 

Additionally, the researchers discovered that the infants were not only eager to explore the remarkable objects but also to understand them. Upon seeing the ball passing through a wall, they tested the object’s solidity by banging it on the table, and after seeing the ball hovering in the air, they tested its gravity by dropping it. The results suggest that babies were testing certain hypotheses about the objects’ abnormal behavior.

Sometimes, the discoveries scientists make are not only unexpected for the public but also for the scientists themselves. Statistics show that 50% of all inventions are happy accidents. 

An invention like shatterproof glass was also discovered through a mishap. When Édouard Bénédictus, a French scientist, was experimenting with cellulose nitrate in 1903, he accidentally dropped the glass beaker it was contained in. The vessel broke but didn’t shatter into pieces as the solution had formed a plastic coating over the glass. Later, he thought of putting together two layers of glass with a thin film of plastic in between, creating the world's first shatterproof windscreen. All because of an accident, shatterproof glass is saving lives across the world every day.

Surprise is different from other emotions like happiness or sadness because it can bring positive, negative, or neutral feelings. The unexpected “happens” in a part of the brain that deals with the perception of different situations. Its job is to help decide whether this is a positive or negative event so that the body can start releasing adequate levels of happiness hormones. Studies have shown that the brain seems to enjoy the unexpected. It is more active when the received stimuli is a surprise and the emotions we feel are intensified by 400%.

Potential terrorist attacks, natural disasters, health scares, and frauds push people to be more cautious and prepared. In the long run, people mistrust surprises and favor a world that is organized and controlled. Sudden accidents may cause stress, anxiety, and a loss of focus. If the person has experienced multiple unexpected disappointments, it’s normal for them to start connecting surprises with something negative.

A slogan like “The best surprise is no surprise” was highly effective for Holiday Inn hotels for decades. It profited from promising a calm, orderly environment that reassured its clients with predictability.

As life is full of challenges and surprises, it’s difficult to try and control things beyond your capacity. The unexpected, instead of a problem, can be viewed as an opportunity. Being open to it can make you more flexible, adaptable, and positive. Spontaneous incidents can be shared with others to create and build deeper connections. It also plays a significant role in creating links in our brains that are later used to generate ideas and promote wonder and curiosity. Perhaps, surprises could be an invitation to explore new, unfamiliar things and not view them as something that is unpredictable and frightening.

If you are a natural enjoyer of the unexpected, there are several other Bored Panda publications you can check out, just by clicking here or here. 

And if you’re not but you wish to be, try to proactively look for opportunities in any surprise, whether you’d be taking a trip and letting others lead the way or reading a book without knowing anything about it in advance.