[Leica] old farts

[jbm at jbm.org (Jeff Moore)]

2008-04-25-15:00:15 Frank Filippone:
> What's Grok?

  http://catb.org/jargon/html/G/grok.html

It's lovely and inclusive and all that that the great general public are
using computers as handy appliances these days, but sometimes it can be
a bit disturbing.  I mean, there was a time when, for cultural reasons,
it would be nearly impossible to imagine anyone who hadn't devoured the
complete works of Heinlein getting near a computer, at least in the US.

I mean, sure, he could be a litle self-indulgent, and there was often a
bit of a stink of misogyny and homophobia overlaying some of the stories --
but still, it was liberating stuff at the time, and _Stranger in a
Strange Land_ remains worth reading.

  `Like many influential works of literature, Stranger made a
   contribution to the language: specifically, the word "grok." In
   Heinlein's invented Martian language, "grok" literally means "to
   drink" and figuratively means "to understand," "to love," and "to be
   one with." This word rapidly became common parlance among science
   fiction fans, hippies, and computer hackers, and has since entered the
   Oxford English Dictionary among others.'

     --from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange_Land>,
       but don't read this article before reading the book -- the Plot
       Summary section would be a spoiler.

> What's Wetware?

And wetware, for the human brain and similar messy biological devices,
is a clear parallel with software, hardware, firmware and the like.

  http://catb.org/jargon/html/W/wetware.html

 -Jeff M