# I have never seen or heard the word "grok" outside of this message board. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 11, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882 "2014-07-11T19:18:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/1 "2014-07-11T19:18:54Z")
I love adding new words to my lexicon and this place is great for that but I’m not sure I would “grok” outside this message board. I’d be afraid people wouldn’t know what the hell I was talking about. Is it odd that I’ve never run into that word before here? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/2 "2014-07-11T19:22:11Z")
> **[Grok](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok)** > > Grok /ˈɡrɒk/ is a neologism coined by American writer Robert A. Heinlein for his 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. While 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", Heinlein's concept is far more nuanced, with critic Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr. observing that "the book's major theme can be seen as a Cr... It’s pretty well known outside this message board. ---
**Author:** ![Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obnoxious_Hood_Ornament)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/3 "2014-07-11T19:23:03Z")
> [@](#): > > Is it odd that I’ve never run into that word before here? That depends heavily on what circles you run in! Grok gets around, but it’s still esoteric for most people. I say use it freely. There will be enough context for people to grok you 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/4 "2014-07-11T19:27:46Z")
It’s a perfectly cromulent word. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/5 "2014-07-11T19:31:51Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > It’s a perfectly cromulent word. We reach. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/6 "2014-07-11T19:39:27Z")
I think of it as esoteric/geeky. I’ve used it in conversation, just like I’ve used _gestalt_, \*Weltanschauung \*, and \*callipygian \* - they usually get people looking at me like I’m a Frasier Crane-like tool, so I have limited their use. Well, except for callipygian. I mean, _damn_. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/7 "2014-07-11T19:44:36Z")
It was pretty popular in the 1970s in a deep- “I get you, man” kind of way. Of course it originated in the early 1960s, but my 1960s memories are pretty vague. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/8 "2014-07-11T19:50:53Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > It was pretty popular in the 1970s in a deep- “I get you, man” kind of way. Of course it originated in the early 1960s, but my 1960s memories are pretty vague. Yeah, it was used more I think in the late 60s and early 70s. I certainly heard it used often enough back then for understanding something a deep, intuitive, or non-verbal level. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/9 "2014-07-11T19:51:57Z")
I suspect most posting here already know this, but for the benefit of the OP, here’s the [Wikipedia entry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok) that gives both the origin and the definition of “grok.” Not everything stays with me from books I read long ago, but that word did. I have only more recently seen it used with any frequency. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/10 "2014-07-11T20:06:41Z")
Yes, but then again, I work in a research lab full of old hippies. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/11 "2014-07-11T20:09:55Z")
I was aware of it and used it before the boards but I try to avoid it because I hated the book. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/12 "2014-07-11T20:11:52Z")
I’m not quite old enough to have been aware of it in its 60s heyday but as a Heinlein fan it is well known to me. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/13 "2014-07-11T20:17:13Z")
As far as Google Ngram is concerned, grok shows up in books about as frequently as TARDIS (or Tardis) and considerably less than Galactica (Spock would be way more common, while a neologism like “blogosphere” would be way less common, than any of these) [Google Ngram Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=grok%2CGalactica%2CTARDIS%2C+Tardis&year_start=1950&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cgrok%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CGalactica%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CTARDIS%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CTardis%3B%2Cc0) Oops. If I take the time out to 2010, blogosphere is way more common than grok [Google Ngram Viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=grok%2Cblogosphere&year_start=1950&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cgrok%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cblogosphere%3B%2Cc0) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/14 "2014-07-11T20:25:51Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I was aware of it and used it before the boards but I try to avoid it because I hated the book. I hated it too, but still use the word. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/15 "2014-07-11T21:08:14Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I think of it as esoteric/geeky. I’ve used it in conversation, just like I’ve used _gestalt_, \*Weltanschauung \*, and \*callipygian \* - they usually get people looking at me like I’m a Frasier Crane-like tool, so I have limited their use. > > Well, except for callipygian. I mean, _damn_. but do you have a reason to use it? ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/16 "2014-07-11T21:11:46Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I was aware of it and used it before the boards but I try to avoid it because I hated the book. “The Book” was undoubtedly the worst thing that Robert Heinlein ever wrote, including some of the crappier short stories. It would rank among the worst speculative fiction ever written in the modern age, were it not for the works of Ayn Rand, who will have a lock on the author of the worst speculative fiction for many years to come. It was popular only because of the time it was released, the free love era of the '60s. Grok is just a new-age word for I understand, I get it, I can feel where you are coming from. It was supposed to mean a great deal more but RAH could never get the idea across, because a new word was not needed. The story of Valentine ‘Vicky’ Smith was poor parable about Jesus. It did not hit the target, it did not even hit the broad side of the barn that the target was hanging on. I am a big fan of RAH and have read or own most of his works. Stranger in a Strange Land is the Star Trek V of his works, the one that should never have been written and does not exist in this fans mind. Of course, your opinions may vary. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/17 "2014-07-12T00:25:02Z")
It was, as stated, big in the late 60s. By the 70s it was fading. There used to be buttons that read “I Grok Spock”, mixing two different science fiction franchises and escalating the Nerd Factor really high. But then other nerdy things came along and took over. Nancy Buttons doesn’t even sell “I Grok Spock” anymore [https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;\_ylt=AwrB8pwKgMBTGiEAf8OJzbkF;\_ylu=X3oDMTIzcHNqMm1lBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAMwZTFkMTAzODY2N2Q3MDZlNWMxNDNkNzU2ZWMyMDA5OARncG9zAzEyBGl0A2Jpbmc-?back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F\_adv\_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Di%2Bgrok%2Bspock%26fr%3Dyfp-t-257%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D12&w=253&h=278&imgurl=www.marketingpilgrim.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F06%2Fi\_grok\_spock.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketingpilgrim.com%2F2011%2F06%2Ftwitter-buys-adgrok-team-to-work-on-monetization.html&size=+8.3KB&name=Twitter+Buys+AdGrok+Team+To+Work+on+Monetization&p=i+grok+spock&oid=0e1d1038667d706e5c143d756ec20098&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-257&tt=Twitter+Buys+AdGrok+Team+To+Work+on+Monetization&b=0&ni=21&no=12&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=12t4djjvs&sigb=13cu94dql&sigi=124cee95q&sigt=11gbn87l0&sign=11gbn87l0&.crumb=A6Y9iMKPcbM&fr=yfp-t-257](https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pwKgMBTGiEAf8OJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzcHNqMm1lBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAMwZTFkMTAzODY2N2Q3MDZlNWMxNDNkNzU2ZWMyMDA5OARncG9zAzEyBGl0A2Jpbmc-?back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Di%2Bgrok%2Bspock%26fr%3Dyfp-t-257%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D12&w=253&h=278&imgurl=www.marketingpilgrim.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F06%2Fi_grok_spock.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketingpilgrim.com%2F2011%2F06%2Ftwitter-buys-adgrok-team-to-work-on-monetization.html&size=+8.3KB&name=Twitter+Buys+AdGrok+Team+To+Work+on+Monetization&p=i+grok+spock&oid=0e1d1038667d706e5c143d756ec20098&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-257&tt=Twitter+Buys+AdGrok+Team+To+Work+on+Monetization&b=0&ni=21&no=12&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=12t4djjvs&sigb=13cu94dql&sigi=124cee95q&sigt=11gbn87l0&sign=11gbn87l0&.crumb=A6Y9iMKPcbM&fr=yfp-t-257) [Yahoo Image Search](https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrB8pwKgMBTGiEAdMOJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIybXFjcm82BHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM2MDMwZDEyOGRiYTc1ODI1ZmUyMjcxNzA5MDRmZTYwZQRncG9zAzEEaXQDYmluZw--?back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_prop%3Dimage%26va%3Di%2Bgrok%2Bspock%26fr%3Dyfp-t-257%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D1&w=500&h=404&imgurl=mycdn3.theshirtlist.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F04%2FI-Grok-Spock-Shirt.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theshirtlist.com%2Fi-grok-spock-t-shirt%2F&size=63.9KB&name=)…+price+%24+20+00+%24+24+99+general+tags+%3Cb%3Ei+grok+spock%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Espock%3C%2Fb%3E+star+trek+text&p=i+grok+spock&oid=6030d128dba75825fe227170904fe60e&fr2=&fr=yfp-t-257&tt=…+price+%24+20+00+%24+24+99+general+tags+%3Cb%3Ei+grok+spock%3C%2Fb%3E+%3Cb%3Espock%3C%2Fb%3E+star+trek+text&b=0&ni=21&no=1&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11hfsasup&sigb=13bdqcl72&sigi=1291hr14h&sigt=12mp769tm&sign=12mp769tm&.crumb=A6Y9iMKPcbM&fr=yfp-t-257 ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/18 "2014-07-12T00:36:31Z")
NPR’s flagship afternoon drive show All Things Considered is doing a series on trade lingo and I just heard grokking featured in one of the pieces this week. Here’s a link: > **[Grokking And Greebling In The 'Strange Land' Of Gamer Lingo](https://www.npr.org/2014/07/08/329884096/grokking-and-greebling-in-the-strange-land-of-gamer-lingo)** > > For an All Things Considered series on trade lingo, Melissa Block speaks with game designer Max Nichols about the terms "grok" and "greebling." ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/19 "2014-07-12T01:23:55Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > I am a big fan of RAH and have read or own most of his works. Stranger in a Strange Land is the Star Trek V of his works, the one that should never have been written and does not exist in this fans mind. > > Of course, your opinions may vary. For me it’s _The Number of the Beast_. What a craptacular shitfest that one was. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882/20 "2014-07-12T02:42:47Z")
I agree. SIASL is much better than TNOTB. But then, it’d have to be, wouldn’t it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-never-seen-or-heard-the-word-grok-outside-of-this-message-board/692882.md?page=2)