First Order Synergies

(See also relationships, second order synergies, synergies of synergies and other keywords)

Synergy in common usage

• Most people understand synergy in the way the ancient Greeks used it.
  • i.e. the Greek word synergos (συνεργός) meant things “working together”.
• But this implies a combinatorial pay-off.
  • As Aristotle (384 to 322 BCE) put it: "The whole is more than the sum of its parts."
• This commonly describes simple systems with mutual or reciprocal benefits (see Ubuntu)
• Peter Corning offers the example of emperor penguins huddling together for warmth. (Corning, 1983)
• In most cases the abundance is inward facing, therefore the system may not deliver benefits beyond itself.
• We therefore refer to first-order synergies as distinct from more bountiful versions.
  • proceed to second order synergies

References

• Corning, P., 1983, The Synergism Hypothesis, Institute for the Study of Complex Systems, Palo Alto