• Shteou@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    9 hours ago

    Grok is old programmer slang for ‘understanding.’ It’s a shame Elon has subverted such a great piece of linguistic history

    • theredknight@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      17
      ·
      8 hours ago

      Grok is from the book Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. It means to understand something so fully you can control it. In the book the main character is raised by Martians which teach him a form of meditation that involves grokking things so he essentially has magical powers over things he understands.

      I doubt Elon has read it. He definitely missed the part about understanding things and is rushing for the controlling things.

    • tym@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      9 hours ago

      Pales in comparison to his bastardization of the name Tesla. He’s a modern-era edison through and through