astercontrol:

there’s a lot to be said about tech bros using fiction references in bitterly ironic ways to name things they invented, but I think “Grok” probably wins some kind of prize for that

Grok (/ˈɡrɒk/) is a neologism coined by the American writer Robert A. Heinlein in his 1961 science fiction novel Stranger in a Strange Land. 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".[1] However, Heinlein's original concept, of a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars, is far more nuanced. ALT
Robert A. Heinlein coined the term grok in his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land as a Martian word that could not be defined in Earthling terms but can be associated with various literal meanings such as "water", "to drink", "to relate", "life", or "to live", and that it had a much more profound figurative meaning that is difficult for terrestrial culture to understand because of the culture's assumption of a singular reality.[3] According to the book, drinking water is a central focus on Mars, where it is scarce. Martians use the merging of their bodies with water as a simple example or symbol of how two entities can combine to create a new reality greater than the sum of its parts. The water becomes part of the drinker and the drinker part of the water. Both grok each other. ALT