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I've heard multiple similar arguments in favor of the word "synergy" or "paradigm". Let me turn the tables: Why is "leverage" acceptable to use but "synergy" e

I've heard multiple similar arguments in favor of the word "synergy" or "paradigm". Let me turn the tables: Why is "leverage" acceptable to use but "synergy" engenders scoffing?

brucephillips 9y ago
Fashion
dwaltrip 9y ago
The terms themselves don't induce scoffing, it is the specific usage patterns over time, which then becomes associated with the term, devaluing it as a meaningful way to communicate. Synergy was frequently used in a mindless, vague way by individuals who wished to appear in-the-know. Thus, it was devalued, as people actually in the know did not want to be mistaken for those those who didn't know how to use the term. This dynamic usually happens with high-level abstractions that have much complexity and nuance, as it is difficult to assess if the term is being used in a meaningful way. "Paradigm" and "synergy" are good examples of such powerful yet tricky concepts prone to misuse and buzzification. Some philosophers say that the meaning of a word is determined purely by its usage. In this view, a word like synergy loses much of its meaning, as it is commonly used in such a jumbled and unclear manner.
- IronKettle 9y ago
  > Synergy was frequently used in a mindless, vague way Again, I'm really not trying to put the author down here - but "leverage" is a term that can very easily and often is used in a mindless and vague way. Not always, of course, in the same way that "synergy" can absolutely be used properly. Still, it would be extremely easy for me to mindlessly posit whatever I want as "high impact", or at the very least "minimal time investment". "Minimal" and "high impact" are inherently subjective phrases (minimal compared to what? high compared to what?) and without a baseline are effectively useless. So, I guess I still don't see a huge difference between "synergy" and "leverage" in terms of vagueness. And if vagueness exists, mindless usage is pretty soon to follow.
  - dwaltrip 9y ago
    I agree "leverage" is further down the spectrum of being prone to meaningless usage (than most words), but I don't think it is as far as "synergy". It's a more precise concept: put x in, get more than x out. The more you get out for each input of x, the greater the leverage. Synergy is the idea of "greater than the sum of the parts", which is a useful concept but much more nebulous, in my view. Not that this is a particularly important debate :)
dualogy 9y ago
I'll take that table-turn! Well my intuition here goes like so: think back to the first moment in life you heard about a "lever" --- then "synergy". Chances are, the former was an illuminating childhood moment when simple levering was first powerfully demonstrated to you by a peer or parent, and tickled your inner engineer/fixer-upper/tinkerer. Chances are, no comparable "engineerish" moment occurred when you first encountered the latter.
- IronKettle 9y ago
  Probably the wrong person to ask :). The first time I heard the word "synergy" was downloading https://symless.com/synergy https://symless.com/synergy , which was an incredibly useful piece of software and absolutely did tickle my inner engineer (trying to figure out how it worked).

I've heard multiple similar arguments in favor of the word "synergy" or "paradigm". Let me turn the tables: Why is "leverage" acceptable to use but "synergy" engenders scoffing?

brucephillips 9y ago

Fashion

dwaltrip 9y ago

The terms themselves don't induce scoffing, it is the specific usage patterns over time, which then becomes associated with the term, devaluing it as a meaningful way to communicate. Synergy was frequently used in a mindless, vague way by individuals who wished to appear in-the-know. Thus, it was devalued, as people actually in the know did not want to be mistaken for those those who didn't know how to use the term. This dynamic usually happens with high-level abstractions that have much complexity and nuance, as it is difficult to assess if the term is being used in a meaningful way. "Paradigm" and "synergy" are good examples of such powerful yet tricky concepts prone to misuse and buzzification. Some philosophers say that the meaning of a word is determined purely by its usage. In this view, a word like synergy loses much of its meaning, as it is commonly used in such a jumbled and unclear manner.

IronKettle 9y ago
> Synergy was frequently used in a mindless, vague way Again, I'm really not trying to put the author down here - but "leverage" is a term that can very easily and often is used in a mindless and vague way. Not always, of course, in the same way that "synergy" can absolutely be used properly. Still, it would be extremely easy for me to mindlessly posit whatever I want as "high impact", or at the very least "minimal time investment". "Minimal" and "high impact" are inherently subjective phrases (minimal compared to what? high compared to what?) and without a baseline are effectively useless. So, I guess I still don't see a huge difference between "synergy" and "leverage" in terms of vagueness. And if vagueness exists, mindless usage is pretty soon to follow.
- dwaltrip 9y ago
  I agree "leverage" is further down the spectrum of being prone to meaningless usage (than most words), but I don't think it is as far as "synergy". It's a more precise concept: put x in, get more than x out. The more you get out for each input of x, the greater the leverage. Synergy is the idea of "greater than the sum of the parts", which is a useful concept but much more nebulous, in my view. Not that this is a particularly important debate :)

dualogy 9y ago

I'll take that table-turn! Well my intuition here goes like so: think back to the first moment in life you heard about a "lever" --- then "synergy". Chances are, the former was an illuminating childhood moment when simple levering was first powerfully demonstrated to you by a peer or parent, and tickled your inner engineer/fixer-upper/tinkerer. Chances are, no comparable "engineerish" moment occurred when you first encountered the latter.

IronKettle 9y ago
Probably the wrong person to ask :). The first time I heard the word "synergy" was downloading https://symless.com/synergy https://symless.com/synergy , which was an incredibly useful piece of software and absolutely did tickle my inner engineer (trying to figure out how it worked).