In an 1854 lecture at the University of Lille, French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur famously remarked that, “In the fields of observation chance favours only the prepared mind.” In a way pretty obvious? After all, if you haven’t done any groundwork what are the chances that you will even recognise an opportunity? I think Pasteur was encouraging us to keep slogging away and that when opportunity strikes, we will be ready, and hopefully willing and able, as well. So, no great insight but it perhaps hints that a lot of new ideas and breakthroughs occur because of serendipity and that most annoyingly slippery concept – pure chance. And the best thing we can do is to be well placed to take advantage of it, if it comes our way.

The late Professor David Ingvar a Swedish neurobiologist found that a specific area of the brain, the frontal/prefrontal cortex, handled behaviour and knowledge along a timeline and it also handled action plans for future behaviour. Ingvar’s research demonstrated that damage in that area of the brain is found to result in an inability to foresee the consequences of one’s future behaviour. He concluded that the brain is ‘hardwired’ to do this and that plans are created instinctively every moment of our lives; planning for the immediate future, that day, that week and even years ahead.

As these plans can be retained and recalled, Ingvar called them ‘memories of the future ‘.
We can illustrate this with a simple example of personal experience which we have all come across. Imagine you are taking up a new interest or perhaps sport, let’s say skiing. Before the new interest our minds had no particular focus or thoughts on the topic – but now suddenly we find there seems to be lots of magazine articles, perhaps special sales offers on ski equipment, and we notice more and more people seem to be talking about skiing! A coincidence or something weird is going on? In fact, it’s neither, for as Ingvar’s research demonstrated we are now tuning our minds to potential future pathways and outcomes – in this case skiing. As a result, we are building a memory of the future that centres around future skiing trips and adventures.

But perhaps we can go one step further and will things in the future? Many people seem to be enamoured of the idea that we can “manifest” the future, and somehow “cosmically attract” success to ourselves. This seems a rather far fetched if not totally absurd idea but is much in vogue with luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey and her assertion that “It’s true, the way you think creates reality for yourself”. Unfortunately for the Queen of daytime tv, the Roman philosopher Cicero quickly punctures this. He points out the inconsistency of divining something that in truth is based on pure chance or old friend good luck. For him it’s all superstition and illogical, and he wrote about this in 44BC! Same old stuff always seems to be about and has been refuted over and over.

So, what to do? Work hard and keep weather eye, a la Pasteur, for that next opening or chance meeting, or perhaps as Ingvar demonstrated, recognise we intuitively focus our brains towards information on topics that we find interesting; or accept Cicero’s advice to seek expert advice when faced with challenges and difficulties, and that wishful thinking won’t make things happen.

If none of the above offers you sufficient guidance hope or comfort, we can all fall back on the great advice and catch phrase of the late great Irish Comedian Dave Allen, “May your god go with you!”