Grok
"Grok means to understand so thoroughly that the observer becomes a part of the observed—to merge, blend, intermarry, lose identity in group experience. It means almost everything that we mean by religion, philosophy, and science—and it means as little to us (because of our Earthly assumptions) as color means to a blind man."
- Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a strange land.
I got this from wikipedia, then copied the main definition here for vanity's sake:
"To grok (pronounced /ˈɡrɒk/) is to share the same semiosphere or line of thinking with another physical or conceptual entity. Author Robert A. Heinlein coined the term in his best-selling 1961 book Stranger in a Strange Land. In Heinlein's view, grokking is the intermingling of intelligence that necessarily affects both the observer and the observed. From the novel:
"... quote above ..."
The Oxford English Dictionary defines grok as "to understand intuitively or by empathy; to establish rapport with" and "to empathize or communicate sympathetically (with); also, to experience enjoyment." Other forms of the word include "groks" (present third person singular), "grokked" (past participle) and "grokking" (present participle).
In an ideological context, a grokked concept becomes part of the person who contributes to its evolution by improving the doctrine, perpetuating the myth, espousing the belief, adding detail to the social plan, refining the idea or proofing the theory."
"To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier... That's why I don't want to hear people's ideas. I'm not interested until I see their execution."
- Derek Sivers
"It’s not until 10 months later when they’ve lost their ability to write a while loop that they realize they may have made a mistake ... If you find yourself in management and wish you were coding, don’t wait until you’re completely burned out and bitter; do yourself (and your company) a favor – and do it now. Get yourself back into the code jockey seat. If your current company won’t work with you, there are companies out there who will."
Rob Walling
http://www.softwarebyrob.com/2009/10/26/work-less-get-more-done-convenient-open-source-what-a-startup-is-really-like-and-more/
The Kingdom Grows
“If content is king, then bandwidth is the kingdom,” says Clayton Banks, founder and president of Ember Media and organizer of Innovation, an annual meeting of media and technology professionals in NYC. If he’s right, then the kingdom is growing now and has plans for further expansion.
As it turns out, he is right for at least two reasons and each reason has import into how media and information technology professionals should approach work.
On the surface, it is simple: content isn’t going to do anything for anyone no matter how good it is if it doesn’t get to them. It’s a quick reminder to make sure what we do can get to the audience. No matter how much we like the sultan of Brunei, we’re not going to enjoy his enlightened policies unless they reach us… which they don’t unless you live in Brunei. For me, this also calls for media equality to champion the cause of democracy, to which we owe the society we enjoy today, in the world of dissemination. To play out the dominant ideological difference of the day, others may see this as limiting those broadcasters who run the resources, forcing them into supporting the mob.
Under the surface, however, there’s a different story that’s been going on for a while. The kingdom is growing as bandwidth is getting to us in greater quantities (faster) and different ways. Our attention is being consumed and our action driven in more profound and varied ways. The digital infrastructure that we recently saw, for example, translate our financial system into itself is now translating significant parts of our habits and choices, and even our personalities and potentials, into forms supported by bandwidth and the technology that delivers it. And, well, the kingdom grows.
The borders of the kingdom can not be measured in bits per second or audience size alone. They are sweeping across our relationships with friends, our capabilities in navigating our days and decades, and just about everything that kids do. The fact that kids are taking to technology like ducks to water with floating bread in it can not be overstated.
It is the job of the technology professional to see how bits translate into behavior. It is the job of the business person to see the opposite.
The questions we ask and the standards that we demand of ourselves and each other must be made from the standpoint of legislators of a kingdom who are responsible not only for the health of the bureaucracy but who take an active responsibility in the development of their subjects.
I may have digressed a bit too deep into metaphor. Here’s a technology called Sixth Sense that was developed by one college student with the resources of a small tech group. The goal is simple, to inject helpful technology into common everyday actions. Imagine the proliferation of such technologies over twenty years with the penetration that cell phones have today. A whole generation of young adults on down with no memory of a world without it. Imagine how they would engage their world. Now shut off the bandwidth. The place people live is pulled out from underneath them. Sure, the world is still there but the world is still there when empires fall, it’s just very different. People would suddenly find it very hard to live. It would be traumatic.
Now think about what you have to do and get back to work! Mind your own business!