🚀 go-pugleaf

Grok is a word coined by Robert Hienlien in his story 'Stranger in a Strange 
Land'.  It refers to a mystical 'understanding' which can be reached between
two sentient organisims.  It really dosen't have any connection with 
computer fokelore, per se.

Ryan, The Tall Guy

	The word 'grok' is from the book "Stranger in a Strange Land" by
Robert A. Heinlein.  Several other concepts in common use came out of the
book -- highly reccommended!!


Sam'l Bassett, Sterling Software @ NASA Ames Research Center, 
Moffett Field CA 94035 Work: (415) 694-4792;  Home: (415) 969-2644
sa...@well.sf.ca.us                     sa...@ames.arc.nasa.gov 
<Disclaimer> := 'Sterling doesn't _have_ opinions -- much less NASA!'

In article <12...@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> pa...@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Paul Lansky) writes:

>Can somebody enlighten me as the the [computer?] etymology of "grok".  It's
>a great word!

Actually, it has nothing to do with computers.  "Grok" came from Robert A.
Heinlein's STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND.  It is a term used to describe
complete and total understanding, as if two minds are one.


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In article <12...@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> pa...@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Paul Lansky) writes:

>Can somebody enlighten me as the the [computer?] etymology of "grok".  It's
>a great word!

It is originally Martian, and means literally "to drink" but has,
due to the religious significance of water to Martians, become to
mean something like to understand, comprehend thoroughly (so thoroughly
that no English word can really convey the meaning).

This comes from Robert A. Heinlein's book "Stranger in a Strange Land".
(I've heard reports of it having been used earlier in some other book
by him or someone else, but that's certainly the most famous occurrence.)
-- 
Tapani Tarvainen    (tarv...@tukki.jyu.fi, tarvainen@finjyu.bitnet)

In article <12...@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>, pa...@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Paul Lansky) writes:
>
> Can somebody enlighten me as the the [computer?] etymology of "grok".  It's
> a great word!
>

The etymology ain't computer, it's sci fi...

The Hacker's Dictionary (Guy Steele, Don Woods, et al, Harper
and Row, 1983) defines grok as:

GROK (grahk) verb.
To understand, usually in a global sense; especially, to
understand all the implications and consequences of making
a change. Example: "JONL is the only one who groks the MAC-LISP
compiler".
This word comes from the science fiction novel 'Stranger in a
Strange Land' by Robert Heinlein, where it is a Martian word
meaning roughly "to be one with."

So there you go... The 'Hacker' in the title of the book is the
older meaning of the word, although the 7th definition of
'Hacker' given in the book is 'A malicious or inquisitive
meddler who tries to discover information by poking around...'

Lots of folklore in there amongst the definitions, too.

In article <11...@milton.acs.washington.edu> dan...@milton.acs.washington.edu (Mikel Stromberg) writes:
>
>Grok is a word coined by Robert Hienlien in his story 'Stranger in a Strange 
>Land'.  It refers to a mystical 'understanding' which can be reached between
>two sentient organisims.  It really dosen't have any connection with 
>computer fokelore, per se.

Actually it also applies between sentient beings and non-sentient objects
(both ways!)  I've always thought the closest english equivalent to 'grok' was
somewhere between 'understanding' and 'being'.  In other words, it's the 
closest you can get to another person/thing without actually being that thing.
-- 
Chris Andersen (..!{sun,tektronix}!sequent!toontown!chris)
Home: (503) 620-4176	| "When forced to choose between two options, 
Work: (503) 629-8005    |  both of them bad, I always look for a third."

> pa...@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Paul Lansky) writes:
>> Can somebody enlighten me as the the [computer?] etymology of "grok".  It's
>> a great word!

tarv...@tukki.jyu.fi (Tapani Tarvainen) writes:
> It is originally Martian, and means literally "to drink" but has,
> due to the religious significance of water to Martians, become to
> mean something like to understand, comprehend thoroughly...

It also means "to eat the flesh of a member of the same species, especially
a friend or relative".  Those Martians were a barrel of laughs.

---
Tom Fitzgerald   fi...@wang.com          It's a mistake to believe that
Wang Labs        ...!uunet!wang!fitz    the die is cast.  In reality, it
Lowell MA, USA   1-508-967-5278         is injection-molded.

In article <25...@tukki.jyu.fi> tarv...@tukki.jyu.fi (Tapani Tarvainen) writes:
>This comes from Robert A. Heinlein's book "Stranger in a Strange Land".
>(I've heard reports of it having been used earlier in some other book
>by him or someone else, but that's certainly the most famous occurrence.)
>-- 
>Tapani Tarvainen    (tarv...@tukki.jyu.fi, tarvainen@finjyu.bitnet)

In "Grumbles from the Grave," Virginia Heinlein tells that Grok was
indeed coined by Robert H. for Stranger, and relates their amazement
when it started showing up all over the place.  

Grumbles is good reading.
				-edg

-- 
Ed Greenberg			+1 415-694-2952 (day)
uunet!apple!netcom!edg		e...@cso.3mail.3com.com
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