10 ms·

Is 'grokked' a common verb now? I had never even heard the word until Musk's AI.

by skarz 1y ago

StefanBatory 1y ago
It was a word before, as far as I remember. Saw it a few times here.
- skarz 1y ago
  What does it even mean?
  - russfink 1y ago
    To understand and comprehend something in fullness. To reach the depths of the concept, idea, or entity so deep that you are practically one with it. (This is per my recollection of the Heinlein story, where grokking one in fullness was the highest form of respect.)
kaycebasques 1y ago
A common verb "now"?? > Grok (/ˈɡrɒk/) is a neologism coined by the 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",[1] Heinlein's concept is far more nuanced, with critic Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr. observing that "the book's major theme can be seen as an extended definition of the term."[2] The concept of grok garnered significant critical scrutiny in the years after the book's initial publication. The term and aspects of the underlying concept have become part of communities such as computer science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok
- skarz 1y ago
  Yes, "now". According to Google Trends[0] there was little to no search interest in the term until December 2023. Usage of 'grokked' on HN: 1,147[1] Usage of 'hacked' on HN: 37,272[2] [0] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=grok&hl=en-US https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=g... [1] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=grokked&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... [2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=hacked&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
  - johnisgood 1y ago
    I do not think "hacked" is a good comparison, does not "to grok [smth]" mean "to understand [smth]"?
    - plumeria 1y ago
      Yes, it means to understand. First book from Manning that uses this verb is from 2016 [1] [1] https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-algorithms https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-algorithms
  - andrehacker 1y ago
    Compare this with Google trends for grokKED (to compare with the hacker news trend): Google trend for grokKED: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=grokked&hl=en-US https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=g...
  - coolcase 1y ago
    [flagged]
kevinsync 1y ago
I never knew the etymology [0] but always knew the word for as long as I've been into computing (90's) .. apparently it's from the 1960's from a Heinlein novel! [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok
BalinKing 1y ago
I first learned of from the Jargon File, long before Grok the product existed: https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/grok.html https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/grok.html
janalsncm 1y ago
Started hearing about it in ~2022 when some ML researchers accidentally left a model training on over a weekend. For a while the model wasn’t doing much (so they were going to turn it off) and then over the weekend it got surprisingly good. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grokking_(machine_learning) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grokking_(machine_learning)

Is 'grokked' a common verb now? I had never even heard the word until Musk's AI.

by skarz 1y ago

Is 'grokked' a common verb now? I had never even heard the word until Musk's AI.

StefanBatory 1y ago

It was a word before, as far as I remember. Saw it a few times here.

skarz 1y ago
What does it even mean?
- russfink 1y ago
  To understand and comprehend something in fullness. To reach the depths of the concept, idea, or entity so deep that you are practically one with it. (This is per my recollection of the Heinlein story, where grokking one in fullness was the highest form of respect.)

kaycebasques 1y ago

A common verb "now"?? > Grok (/ˈɡrɒk/) is a neologism coined by the 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",[1] Heinlein's concept is far more nuanced, with critic Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr. observing that "the book's major theme can be seen as an extended definition of the term."[2] The concept of grok garnered significant critical scrutiny in the years after the book's initial publication. The term and aspects of the underlying concept have become part of communities such as computer science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok

skarz 1y ago
Yes, "now". According to Google Trends[0] there was little to no search interest in the term until December 2023. Usage of 'grokked' on HN: 1,147[1] Usage of 'hacked' on HN: 37,272[2] [0] https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=grok&hl=en-US https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=g... [1] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=grokked&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... [2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=hacked&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
- johnisgood 1y ago
  I do not think "hacked" is a good comparison, does not "to grok [smth]" mean "to understand [smth]"?
  - plumeria 1y ago
    Yes, it means to understand. First book from Manning that uses this verb is from 2016 [1] [1] https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-algorithms https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-algorithms
- andrehacker 1y ago
  Compare this with Google trends for grokKED (to compare with the hacker news trend): Google trend for grokKED: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=grokked&hl=en-US https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=g...
- coolcase 1y ago
  [flagged]

kevinsync 1y ago

I never knew the etymology [0] but always knew the word for as long as I've been into computing (90's) .. apparently it's from the 1960's from a Heinlein novel! [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok

BalinKing 1y ago

I first learned of from the Jargon File, long before Grok the product existed: https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/grok.html https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/grok.html

janalsncm 1y ago

Started hearing about it in ~2022 when some ML researchers accidentally left a model training on over a weekend. For a while the model wasn’t doing much (so they were going to turn it off) and then over the weekend it got surprisingly good. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grokking_(machine_learning) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grokking_(machine_learning)