Justin PotNov 6, 2023

"Grok" being the name for an AI chatbot is just the latest example of tech bros not understanding science fiction. In "Strangers In a Strange Land", the famous 1950's novel the term comes from, to "grok" something is to understand it on a deep level. AI chatbots, as we all know by now, do not grok—they bullshit.

I'm really tired of sci-fi terms being used by people who read the books and got nothing from them beyond “lol this word sounds cool”. (See also: “metaverse”.)

Show threadOggieNov 6, 2023

@jhpot
God I am so fucking bothered by this jackass in particular taking pieces of nerd culture he doesn't understand and plastering it elsewhere. 'Grok' is a term I used to use all the time (and I always explained it with the book quote 'to drink fully', if pressed).

I am still salty about him using Culture ship names, too- and that entire universe was techno-anarchist with deep democratic underpinnings, about as anti-capitalist as you can get, how did he miss that?

Show threadJustin PotNov 6, 2023
@Oggie Somewhat related: Bezos personally intervening to get more seasons of The Expanse, a show that’s heavy on the theme of “if a for profit company tries to get you to go to space don’t do it”
Show threadFeralRobotsNov 6, 2023
@jhpot @Oggie as someone who's never read Expanse (or watched), do you think it's plausible they were nodding a bit to Bester (_Stars My Destination_) in that aspect? (Bester was unusually cynical for his time about corporate spacefaring.)
Show threadJustin Pot
@FeralRobots @Oggie I honestly do not know! Not familiar with Bester
Nov 6, 2023 at 9:47pmMona for iPhone
Show threadFeralRobotsNov 6, 2023
@jhpot @Oggie proto new wave, worth checking out.