When the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires destroyed his home and neighborhood, scientist Christian Busch encountered the opposite of serendipity: “zemblanity,” or bad luck by design. Drawing on more than a decade of scientific research, he explores how people can navigate unpredictability by adopting a serendipity mindset that transforms setbacks into unexpected new beginnings. He asks: What if good luck isn’t random but can actually be cultivated? (Recorded at TED@BCG on ctober 23, 2025)
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@stefanbrown7277
April 7, 2026 at 11:06 am
I love this
@22ffffff
April 7, 2026 at 11:10 am
👍👍
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:47 pm
Thank you for watching!
@kipo3
April 7, 2026 at 11:07 am
Ted talks have fallen off dang…
@TinaSadeghi-g8q
April 7, 2026 at 11:38 am
Love this. Zemblanity was new to me and just as compelling as serendipity. The luck matrix is a helpful way to visualize it.
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:37 pm
Thank you, I’m glad that it resonated!
@onjulraz754
April 7, 2026 at 12:04 pm
excellent advice. thank you for your Ted talk
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:39 pm
Thank you!
@MattLang-x2h
April 7, 2026 at 12:10 pm
I found this really helpful. I will try to incorporate more of a serendipity mindset into my daily life.
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:38 pm
That’s wonderful to hear, thank you for watching!
@Solomon-w3j8y
April 7, 2026 at 12:25 pm
9:32 i would disagree regret of not trying goes away quickly but consequences are woven into reality.(Ignoring the bad side of action is also ignorant behaviour)
I do get your point that trying has more chance of success than not trying
But u have a flawed logic and ignoring many variables,it wasn’t just the unexpected situations which led to the love of their life it was both their personality, situation and what they were feeling and thinking.
If u just see the unexpected situation u risk regretting ever taking such actions like when u were a kid all u wanted was to be dependent on ur parents as Adults all u want is to be independent desires can change in the future,even robust values may change or adapt with time and you never know the future so always consider what’s the most worst thing which could happen and are u willing to risk it for the biscuit.
@AshleyAlexopoulos
April 7, 2026 at 12:29 pm
👆🏼👏🏼
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:47 pm
🙏
@harveykarp8746
April 7, 2026 at 12:29 pm
In a world that feels so out of control, it is empowering to see how to flip random acts into opportunities and how to sidestep inevitable pitfalls.
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:50 pm
Agreed, that shift is often where (almost) everything changes. Thank you!
@lilifakhari6033
April 7, 2026 at 1:26 pm
Such an interesting take on what luck is
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Thank you! 🙏
@nitinsinghbros
April 7, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Wowo it’s really given a realistic solution to all problems.
Even at the last moment you can change the outcome, if you are positive
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:48 pm
This last-moment-shift is so crucial, thank you for watching!
@LexiMontée
April 7, 2026 at 1:35 pm
I didn’t know that there was a word for this, Zemblanity… or that so many of the things I perceived as just plain bad luck that happened to me in my life were actually because of the way I designed the situation (or some cases the way others designed the situation). Just having awareness of this will help me not design things the same way any longer. Super helpful to open my eyes to this!
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:37 pm
Agreed, once you start seeing it, you can’t unsee it!
@KatarinaHogan-r1c
April 7, 2026 at 2:34 pm
This really hit home…changing how I see things and treating challenges as opportunities instead of obstacles has me feeling inspired to stay open, embrace surprises, and turn even small moments into something positive!
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:36 pm
Love this, that openness is definitely where it often starts, thank you for watching!
@nele.terveen
April 7, 2026 at 6:13 pm
Eye opening!! Zemblanity helps us to spot and understand the fragility built into the systems around us – and ultimately, hopefully, to prevent it from turning into bad luck, once we see clearly.
@drchristianbusch
April 7, 2026 at 7:49 pm
Agreed, there’s so much opportunity in zemblanity-spotting!
@TheWarrrenator
April 7, 2026 at 8:01 pm
Of course a German gives us a newish word for concerted misfortune. Although flirting on the bus with strangers is apparently appropriate in Deutschland, here in the U. S of A, don’t do it, it’s harassment. Speaking of which, I’m surprised he didn’t mention gun violence since the zemblanity of it occurring in Europe is lower than would be here.
@Miss_Anne_Thropic
April 7, 2026 at 8:19 pm
Absolute BS, this guy is like so many other humans who think we can control nature. He lost me in less than 2.5 minutes.
@sheilalang1178
April 7, 2026 at 9:18 pm
What a fascinating talk! This really clicked for me. The idea of contingency planning and preparedness is something we take seriously at my company to deliver consistent results but I hadn’t thought about it in terms of zemblanity vs. serendipity before. I really enjoyed the perspective the matrix gave to these concepts.
Cheers to cultivating more good luck!