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First Order Synergies

One White Bit (See also relationships, second order synergies, synergies of synergies and other keywords)
One White Bit
Noun Penguin 5585217 (1) Noun Penguin 5585217

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.
  • 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.

References

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