Synergy (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what synergy is and its meaning in physics, pharmacology, business administration and ecology.

What is synergy?

With the word synergy (from the Greek synergeia“cooperation”) we usually call the joint action of two or more agents to successfully carry out a task. It can refer, in numerous areas of knowledge, to forces, influences, systems or factors of any type, as long as they operate concentrically, that is, adding the effects of each one.

This term is used in disciplines as different from each other as economics, biology, medicine or sociology, and in everyday language it is given positive and desirable traits, in accordance with the principle that the joint action of many is more powerful than that of only one. Thus, to cite some examples, we speak of synergy in:

Physics. It is one of the names of the emergent property of systems, which allows the joint action of two or more elements, thus obtaining an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects. For example: the water molecule (H₂O) it has individual electromagnetic properties, which are reformulated when it is associated with four other molecules, thus obtaining the capacity for surface tension, fluidity, etc., which are non-existent if we observe a single molecule.
Pharmacology. The “synergistic effect” is known as the result of the joint administration of two or more medications, whose beneficial effect is much greater than that produced by each administered independently. For example: vitamin D and calcium are often administered together, as the former promotes the body's absorption of calcium into the bones. So if they are administered separately, their long-term effect would be much slower.
Business administration. We speak of business synergy to refer to the joint action of two or more elements of the same organization, towards the achievement of a common goal, in such a way that the greatest possible benefit is obtained from the same initial resources. This can also occur between two completely different companies. For example: technology companies Intel and Microsoft operate synergistically in the production of powerful microprocessors, in such a way that the work of one lowers the costs of the other by promoting demand and a “virtuous circle” in economic terms for both.
Ecology. In the defense of the environment, we often talk about “toxic synergies”, to express the devastating effect on the ecosystem that two substances or chemicals have when acting together, and how it would be enough to eliminate or reduce one of them for the damage to occur. ecological decrease enormously. For example: certain herbicides such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, mecoprop and dicamba, according to studies at the University of Wisconsin, are used in very low proportions each, so that they do not have a toxicological effect, but when found together in These very low proportions, a proven synergistic effect causes proven fetal damage, despite each being within the “safe limits.”
Sociology. The term synergy is commonly used when thinking about human associations, whether they are collaborations between nations, social classes or individuals, who only by adding their efforts can obtain a change or a result. For example: the synergy that leads minority opposition parties to a political alliance capable of mobilizing a majority of the electorate and winning the presidency of a country, despite the fact that none of these parties, separately, would be real competition for the great traditional parties.