Editing Grok (section)

==Etymology==
Robert A. Heinlein originally [[neologism|coined]] the term ''grok'' in his 1961 novel ''[[Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land#Grok|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 had a much more profound figurative meaning that is hard for terrestrial culture to understand because of its assumption of a singular reality.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Joy |first1=Surya |title=Robert Heinlein’s ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’: A Postmodern Study |journal=International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences |date=2021 |volume=6 |issue=4 |page=243 |doi=10.22161/ijels.64.36 |url=https://ijels.com/detail/robert-heinlein-s-stranger-in-a-strange-land-a-postmodern-study/ |access-date=18 October 2024 |issn=2456-7620|doi-access=free }}</ref>

According to the book, drinking water is a central focus on [[Water on Mars|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. Things that once had separate realities become entangled in the same experiences, goals, history, and purpose. Within the book, the statement of divine [[immanence]] verbalized among the main characters, "thou art God", is logically derived from the concept inherent in the term ''grok''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Garg |first1=Anu |author1-link=Anu Garg |title=grok |url=https://wordsmith.org/words/grok1.html |website=Wordsmith.org |access-date=18 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=grok |url=https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/grok |website=Vocabulary.com |access-date=18 October 2024}}</ref>

Heinlein describes Martian words as "guttural" and "jarring". Martian speech is described as sounding "like a bullfrog fighting a cat". Accordingly, ''grok'' is generally pronounced as a guttural ''gr'' terminated by a sharp ''k'' with very little or no vowel sound (a narrow [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] transcription might be {{IPA|[ɡɹ̩kʰ]}}).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shenoy |first1=Gautham |title=Brave New Words (or rather, a few more of them) |url=https://archive.factordaily.com/brave-new-words-or-rather-a-few-more-of-them/ |website=[[FactorDaily]] |access-date=18 October 2024 |date=14 April 2018}}</ref> [[William Tenn]] suggests Heinlein in creating the word might have been influenced by Tenn's very similar concept of ''griggo'', earlier introduced in Tenn's story ''[[Venus and the Seven Sexes]]'' (published in 1949). In his later afterword to the story, Tenn says Heinlein considered such influence "very possible".<ref>{{cite web |title=What’s a GRIGGO? |url=https://griggo.org/ |website=griggo.org |access-date=18 October 2024 |quote=In the 1949 short story “Venus and the Seven Sexes” by William Tenn, the author coined the term “griggo” as a Venusian basic sense describing intuitive understanding. Tenn used “griggo” as both a noun and a verb in phrases like “I griggoed his impatience.”  Over a decade later, acclaimed sci-fi author Robert Heinlein published his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land, which introduced the word “grok” with a similar meaning of deep, empathetic comprehension.  Heinlein’s “grok” became hugely influential in 1960s counter-culture and lexicon. When asked if he was inspired by Tenn’s prior “griggo,” Heinlein admitted “It’s possible, very possible.”}}</ref>