
Monolith
The name of TikTok's real-time recommendation algorithm, which Chamath Palihapitiya praised as a 'tour de force' of computer science and an incredible technological innovation.
entitydetail.created_at
7/26/2025, 5:27:25 AM
entitydetail.last_updated
7/26/2025, 5:58:10 AM
entitydetail.research_retrieved
7/26/2025, 5:58:10 AM
Summary
In the technological domain, 'Monolith' specifically denotes TikTok's highly advanced recommendation algorithm. This algorithm was highlighted by Chamath Palihapitiya as an example of TikTok's technological brilliance during a discussion that also covered national security risks associated with its parent company, ByteDance, and the potential TikTok ban.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Type
Recommendation Algorithm
Platform
TikTok
Characteristic
Advanced
Etymology (general)
From Ancient Greek 'monos' (single) and 'lithos' (stone)
General Meaning (non-tech)
A single massive stone or rock, often a geological feature or a large stone used in architecture.
Wikipedia
View on WikipediaMonolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monoliths are volcanic plugs, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano. In architecture, the term has considerable overlap with megalith, which is normally used for prehistory, and may be used in the contexts of rock-cut architecture that remains attached to solid rock, as in monolithic church, or for exceptionally large stones such as obelisks, statues, monolithic columns or large architraves, that may have been moved a considerable distance after quarrying. It may also be used of large glacial erratics moved by natural forces. The word derives, via the Latin monolithus, from the Ancient Greek word μονόλιθος (monólithos), from μόνος (mónos) meaning "one" or "single" and λίθος (líthos) meaning "stone".
Web Search Results
- Monolith - Wikipedia
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone "Rock (geology)") or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monoliths are volcanic plugs, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano. [...] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Stone block made of one single piece; object made of one single rock piece For other uses, see Monolith (disambiguation) "Monolith (disambiguation)"). Image 4 Niapiskau island, limestone monoliths, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Canada Image 5 [...] Monadnock– Isolated, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain (or inselberg) Monolith (Space Odyssey) "Monolith (Space Odyssey)")– Fictional artefacts from Arthur C. Clarke's _Space Odyssey_ novels Monolithic architecture– Buildings carved or excavated from a single material, usually rock Monolithos (Rhodes),_Greece "Monolithos (Rhodes), Greece")– village in Rhodes, Greece Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
- Monolith and Coupling Types - Codurance
A Third-party Monolith is a system where a significant portion of the application's functionality is provided by external, third-party services or libraries. This type of monolith can lead to a high degree of dependency on external components, reducing control and increasing the risk of vendor lock-in. [...] A Distributed Monolith is an architecture where individual components are physically separated and communicate via network protocols, but they still exhibit tight coupling and maintain dependencies on each other. It is often seen as an anti-pattern that arises when attempting to transition from a monolithic to a microservices architecture without properly addressing the underlying issues. [...] A Singular Monolith is a traditional monolithic architecture in which an entire application is built as a single, self-contained unit. All components, such as the frontend, backend, and database, are tightly integrated, making it difficult to change or scale individual parts. Example: A classic e-commerce application where the frontend, backend, product catalogue, user management, and payment processing are all part of a single codebase. #### Coupling in Singular Monoliths
- Microservices vs. monolithic architecture - Atlassian
A monolithic architecture is a traditional model of a software program, which is built as a unified unit that is self-contained and independent from other applications. The word “monolith” is often attributed to something large and glacial, which isn’t far from the truth of a monolith architecture for software design. A monolithic architecture is a singular, large computing network with one code base that couples all of the business concerns together. To make a change to this sort of [...] As with the case of Netflix, monolithic applications can be quite effective until they grow too large and scaling becomes a challenge. Making a small change in a single function requires compiling and testing the entire platform, which goes against the agile approach today’s developers favor. The disadvantages of a monolith include: Slower development speed – A large, monolithic application makes development more complex and slower. Scalability – You can’t scale individual components. [...] Monoliths can be convenient early on in a project's life for ease of code management, cognitive overhead, and deployment. This allows everything in the monolith to be released at once. monolithic architecture image code-build icon ###### related material #### How to build microservices three rings Icon ###### SEE SOLUTION #### Improve your DevEx with Compass ## Advantages of a monolithic architecture
- The monoliths in Utah, California, and Romania, explained | Vox
The monoliths are long vertical slabs of metal, each 10 to 12 feet tall. They appear with no warning and disappear just as quickly: First, one in the Utah desert, which emerged on November 18 and vanished on November 27. Second, one outside the Romanian city of Piatra Neamt, which appeared on November 27 and disappeared on December 2. Third, one at the top of Pine Mountain in Atascadero, California, which appeared on December 2, was taken down on December 3, and reappeared on December 4. And [...] The first monolith was discovered in November in a remote desert canyon in Utah’s Red Rock Country. A helicopter crew counting bighorn sheep noticed a flash of metal looming up from the ground and flew down to investigate, and there it was: deeply embedded in the red rock of the canyon floor, an enormous smooth metal triangular prism, just standing there. [...] We know very little about these monoliths at all, in fact, and that seems to be part of their point. They are a beautifully inexplicable phenomenon, and proof that the world still contains marvels. Here’s what we do know about the monoliths — and why we keep talking about them. ## A monolith timeline Reflective rectangular metal structures rising vertically from natural surroundings.
- MONOLITH Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
link icon link icon link icon Definition Definition # monolith ## noun How to pronounce monolith (audio) next ## Examples of monolith in a Sentence ## Word History French monolithe, from monolithe consisting of a single stone, from Latin monolithus, from Greek monolithos, from mon- + lithos stone 1836, in the meaning defined at sense 1 ## Rhymes for monolith ## Browse Nearby Words ## Cite this Entry [...] “Monolith.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Accessed 26 Jul. 2025. ## Share ## Kids Definition monolith How to pronounce monolith (audio) ## More from Merriam-Webster on monolith Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for monolith Nglish: Translation of monolith for Spanish Speakers Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! ## More from Merriam-Webster
Wikidata
View on WikidataInstance Of
DBPedia
View on DBPediaA monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monoliths are volcanic plugs, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano. In architecture, the term has considerable overlap with megalith, which is normally used for prehistory, and may be used in the contexts of rock-cut architecture that remains attached to solid rock, as in monolithic church, or for exceptionally large stones such as obelisks, statues, monolithic columns or large architraves, that may have been moved a considerable distance after quarrying. It may also be used of large glacial erratics moved by natural forces. The word derives, via the Latin monolithus, from the Ancient Greek word μονόλιθος (monólithos), from μόνος (mónos) meaning "one" or "single" and λίθος (líthos) meaning "stone".

Location Data
Monolith, Kern County, California, United States
Coordinates: 35.1199664, -118.3742489
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