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| '''Grok''' (] {{IPA|}}, rhymes with ''rock'') is |
'''Grok''' (] {{IPA|}}, rhymes with ''rock'', verb) is the intermingling of ] and purpose that is necessary to fully understand something. It assumes the ] principle that one cannot observe a subject without changing it and thereby becoming part of it. The term was ] by ] writer ] in his novel '']'', where it is used to convey a ] language concept which has no Earthly equivalent. | ||
| In the fictional Martian tongue of the book, ''grok'' literally means "to drink." The scarcity of water on Mars adds meaning to the concept of drinking, giving it a context of relishment, understanding and fundamental integration. A human character describes his understanding of the term in the following way: | |||
| It should be made clear that there is no exact definition for grok; it is a fictional word intended not to be "understood completely". | |||
| In the Martian tongue, it literally means "to drink" but is used in a much wider context. A character in the novel (not the primary user) defines it: | |||
| :"''Grok'' means to understand so thoroughly that the observer becomes a part of the observed—to merge, blend, intermarry, lose identity in group experience. It means almost everything that we mean by religion, philosophy, and science—and it means as little to us (because we are from Earth) as color means to a blind man." | :"''Grok'' means to understand so thoroughly that the observer becomes a part of the observed—to merge, blend, intermarry, lose identity in group experience. It means almost everything that we mean by religion, philosophy, and science—and it means as little to us (because we are from Earth) as color means to a blind man." | ||
Revision as of 20:19, 6 July 2006
Grok (IPA , rhymes with rock, verb) is the intermingling of intelligence and purpose that is necessary to fully understand something. It assumes the quantum physics principle that one cannot observe a subject without changing it and thereby becoming part of it. The term was coined by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein in his novel Stranger in a Strange Land, where it is used to convey a Martian language concept which has no Earthly equivalent.
In the fictional Martian tongue of the book, grok literally means "to drink." The scarcity of water on Mars adds meaning to the concept of drinking, giving it a context of relishment, understanding and fundamental integration. A human character describes his understanding of the term in the following way:
- "Grok means to understand so thoroughly that the observer becomes a part of the observed—to merge, blend, intermarry, lose identity in group experience. It means almost everything that we mean by religion, philosophy, and science—and it means as little to us (because we are from Earth) as color means to a blind man."
Using the broad meaning above, the term gained real-world currency as slang among counterculture groups including hippies. A popular t-shirt and bumper sticker slogan for 1970s Trekkies was I grok Spock (often showing the Star Trek character using the Vulcan salute). Today it is chiefly used by science-fiction fans, geeks and some pagans, particularly those belonging to the Church of All Worlds, but is attested and understood more widely.
See also
- Groklaw
- Grokker
- Grok Magazine, an Australian student magazine
- Gestalt psychology
External links
- Groks and the Vanguard of Science, essay from Berkeley Groks science radio program
- Grok definition in the Jargon File
- WikiQuote on Stranger in a Strange Land includes many uses of grok