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Sunday, July 03, 2005

Grok

grok (grŏk)
tr.v. Slang grok·ked, grok·king, groks

To understand profoundly through intuition or empathy.

[Coined by Robert A. Heinlein in his Stranger in a Strange Land.]


/grok/, /grohk/ (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")

1. To understand, usually in a global sense. Connotes
intimate and exhaustive knowledge.

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."

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