grok
Sign in to saveGrok () is a neologism coined by the American writer Robert A. Heinlein in his 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. The Oxford English Dictionary summarizes the meaning of grok as "to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with", and "to empathize or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment". However, Heinlein's original concept, of a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars, is far more nuanced.
~7 min read
Article
9 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Definitions
- Adoption and modern use
- In computer programmer culture
- Examples of computer culture use
- Counterculture uses
- See also
- References
- External links
Grok () is a neologism coined by the American writer Robert A. Heinlein in his 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. The Oxford English Dictionary summarizes the meaning of grok as "to understand intuitively or by empathy, to establish rapport with", and "to empathize or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment". However, Heinlein's original concept, of a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars, is far more nuanced.
The concept of grok has garnered significant critical scrutiny in the years after the book's initial publication. Critic Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr. observed in 2008 that "the book's major theme can be seen as an extended definition of the term". The term and aspects of the underlying concept of the word also have become part of communities such as computer science.