Grok

Grok /ˈɡrɒk/ is a word coined by Robert A. Heinlein for his 1961 science-fiction novel, Stranger in a Strange Land, where it is defined as follows:

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 Earthling assumptions) as color means to a blind man.

Here’s why, “It’s a team game!” As an argument against #fancystats in hockey is hopelessly stupid:

— Bryce Pugh (@brycepugh) May 9, 2014

Team games rely in strategies. Systems. Systems only work if each individual is completing the role assigned to them. — Bryce Pugh (@brycepugh) May 9, 2014

Those individual roles consist of repeatable, measurable actions.

— Bryce Pugh (@brycepugh) May 9, 2014

And how do we assess the success of the individual roles, and a team’s success on the whole? By looking at the success or failure of those. — Bryce Pugh (@brycepugh) May 9, 2014

Therefore: stats. If I can grok this, anyone can.

— Bryce Pugh (@brycepugh) May 9, 2014