'Grokking'- What Does It Mean?
N. Samuel R.
by the science fiction writer Robert Heinlein in, I think, "Stranger in a
Strange Land." It means more than understanding, it means completely and
thoroughly understanding. JNS ]
What does 'grokking' mean? I've seen this word used a few times here and it's
not listed at http://m-w.com
Thank you.
Dan Kimmel
we have to tell you :>) JNS ]
"N. Samuel R." <n_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:9jp9d2$r82u$1...@ID-67534.news.dfncis.de...
The moderator is correct. It's from "Stranger in a Strange Land."
Art Werschulz
For all us computer geeks, The Jargon File has an entry at
http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/grok.html.
grok /grok/, var. /grok/ vt.
[common; from the novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", by Robert
A. Heinlein, where it is a Martian word meaning literally `to drink'
and metaphorically `to be one with']
The emphatic form is `grok in fullness'. 1. To understand. Connotes
intimate and exhaustive knowledge. When you claim to `grok' some
knowledge or technique, you are asserting that you have not merely
learned it in a detached instrumental way but that it has become part
of you, part of your identity. For example, to say that you "know"
*LISP* is simply to assert that you can code in it if necessary - but to
say you "grok" LISP is to claim that you have deeply entered the
world-view and spirit of the language, with the implication that it
has transformed your view of programming. Contrast *zen*, which is
similar supernal understanding experienced as a single brief
flash. See also *glark*. 2. Used of programs, may connote merely
sufficient understanding. "Almost all C compilers grok the void type
these days."
Art Werschulz (8-{)} "Metaphors be with you." -- bumper sticker
GCS/M (GAT): d? -p+ c++ l u+(-) e--- m* s n+ h f g+ w+ t++ r- y?
Internet: a...@cs.columbia.edu<a href="http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~agw/">WWW</a>
ATTnet: Columbia U. (212) 939-7061, Fordham U. (212) 636-6325
Art Kamlet
If you're not familiar with xrefer.com it is a really neat, fast
reference site to lots of good stuff.
From xrefer.com on grok
...which writers often seek to escape the bonds of their language:
Robert A. Heinlein's Martian word grok suggests empathy and
understanding: 'the ungrokkable vastness of ocean' (Stranger in a
Strange...
The Oxford Companion to the English Language
2001 xrefer.com. All rights reserved.
--
Art Kamlet Columbus, Ohio ArtK...@AOL.com
Michael Shimshoni
"N. Samuel R." <n_...@hotmail.com% writes:
%[ Moderator's Comment: It means to completely understand, a word invented
% by the science fiction writer Robert Heinlein in, I think, "Stranger in a
% Strange Land." It means more than understanding, it means completely and
% thoroughly understanding. JNS ]
As one of the moderators has given a "hekhsher" to asking about about
grokking, I have two questiions:
1. What has grokking to do with this Jewish list?
2. Would it be correct to define a talmid hakham as a person who
has grokked the Talmud?
%What does 'grokking' mean? I've seen this word used a few times here and it's
%not listed at http://m-w.com
%
%Thank you.
Shabbat Shalom,
Michael Shimshoni
rrobbi
The term was indeed introduced by Robert Heinlein in "Stranger in a
Strange Land," a science fiction novel popular in the 60's in which an
alien came to earth and was viewed as a messiah by followers, who
formed communes. (This is at least my reconstruction of the plot from
ancient memory.) The followers of the messiah used "grok" to mean a
complete, shared communal understanding.
I just checked Atomica, the online reference, and it has the
following:
"To have a thorough understanding of a subject. The word comes from
Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land," and it means "to
drink" in Martian. Of course. But more specifically in the book, it
meant to take something in so thoroughly that it becomes part of you.
"grok (grŏk)
tr.v. Slang., grok搔ed, grok搔ing, groks.
To understand profoundly through intuition or empathy.
"[Coined by Robert A. Heinlein in his Stranger in a Strange Land.]"
Susan Cohen
"N. Samuel R." wrote:
> [ Moderator's Comment: It means to completely understand, a word invented
> by the science fiction writer Robert Heinlein in, I think, "Stranger in a
> Strange Land."
Yes. It's a "Martian word" or, rather, concept.
> It means more than understanding, it means completely and
> thoroughly understanding.
Understanding, accepting, internalizing - the ultimate understanding.
Susan
Yisroel Markov
> In article <9jp9d2$r82u$1...@ID-67534.news.dfncis.de%
> "N. Samuel R." <n_...@hotmail.com% writes:
>
> %[ Moderator's Comment: It means to completely understand, a word invented
> % by the science fiction writer Robert Heinlein in, I think, "Stranger in a
> % Strange Land." It means more than understanding, it means completely and
> % thoroughly understanding. JNS ]
>
> As one of the moderators has given a "hekhsher" to asking about about
> grokking, I have two questiions:
>
> 1. What has grokking to do with this Jewish list?
Nothing per se. I used it a few times as jargon, knowing that there
are quite a few sci-fi types around here.
> 2. Would it be correct to define a talmid hakham as a person who
> has grokked the Talmud?
Probably. On 7/13/99 R posted a chasidic explanation of the word:
"To put it in more succinct Chabad parlance, I guess to "grok an
inyan" would be to be "melabesh" or "makif" the inyan with one's
seichel."
Full post is at http://groups.google.com/groups?q=grok+inyan&num=20&hl=en&lr=lang_en|lang_en&safe=off&rnum=1&selm=378BE674.2F91CE83%40concentric.net
Yisroel Markov Boston, MA Member DNRC
www.reason.com -- for unbiased analysis of the world
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