It is funny how you can go along, kind of knowing a word and even using it with no idea of its origins. I knew what grok was but never knew its origin. Never even realized that it came from one of my favorite SciFi authors.
The word grok comes from the novel Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein, and is defined in his book as:
Grok means to understand so thoroughly that the observer becomes part of the observed – to merge, blend, intermarry, lose identity in group experience.
The thought of observer becoming part of the observed is kind of enticing. It is the kind of experience one feels in full immersion in anything. For me it is technology. Some times, I wonder what the fascination is all about. It is not a particular programming language or software environment. I guess it is the people in the tech industry, the industry itself. It is a fascination some times almost becoming infatuation.
Meta:
From an introductory chapter in Plone book -> Grok Page-> this post.