Cameron Meyer Shorb 🔸 comments on When you shouldn’t use EA jargon and how to avoid it

[Cameron Meyer Shorb 🔸]

(That said I do think “deeply understand” doesn’t quite do the job.)

I feel the same way, even though I’m relatively strongly opposed to EA jargon, and even though I don’t know the specific connotations from Stranger in a Strange Land.

Here’s the compromise I’ve settled on: “to grok” → “to grok, to really deeply understand.”

That is, I’ll use the jargon and immediately follow it with the translation. It’s inelegant, and I’ve only used it in conversation so far. Not sure I’d be comfortable with so many redundant words in text. But I like that this compromise:

• Conveys as much of the point as possible to someone unfamiliar with the term “grok.”

• Adds the marginal value of “grok” for anyone who is familiar with the term.

• Maybe even adds some of the marginal value of “grok” for someone unfamiliar with the term. The fact that I’m using a foreign word to describes this idea suggests that it’s a different/​harder-to-capture idea than simply “really deeply understand.” So from context, you could conclude that “grok” means “like really deeply understand, but in a different or harder-to-capture way,” which is most of what I mean by “grok” anyway.

[Will Bradshaw]

I had a detailed comment here, but then I realised I seldom use the word “grok” anyway so I don’t have much cause to be nitpicking other people’s substitutions. :-P