I actually didn’t understand this line either, so I asked ChatGPT:
> The phrase "That there’s a ‘there’ there to it" in this context means that "it" (likely AI or some other over-hyped technology) has a kind of undeniable substance or presence — even if it's unwelcome, overwhelming, or problematic. It's not just hype or smoke; it’s real, it’s happening, and it matters — which ironically contributes to the speaker’s frustration and exhaustion.
> It’s a nod to the idea that you can’t ignore it anymore, because it’s not just talk — it’s manifesting in tangible, consequential ways.
> The phrase echoes Gertrude Stein’s famous line about Oakland: “There’s no there there”, which meant a place had no substance or significance. Inverting that to “there’s a ‘there’ there” means this “it” is very much real, unavoidable, and has weight — and that’s part of what makes it so exhausting.
> In short: "It’s not just hype anymore — it's here, it's real, and that sucks."
I see, but the "to it" is what's grammatically incorrect.
It is correct to write: there is a "there" there. It would also be correct to write: there is a "there" to it. But it is grammatically incorrect to write: there is a "there" there to it.
Eh, maybe? But English grammar is consensus based. This is arguably bad grammar because people not knowing the cliché of "there there" had trouble understanding the intent, not because it's "wrong" under some hard citeable rules.
Moreover I think you could argue the author is using the phrase as an abstract noun. Consider:
That there's a solidity to it.
That there's a "there" there to it.
The first turns naturally to my ear; the second is a bit forced but works IMO.
> From a remark by Gertrude Stein in Everybody's Autobiography (1937), concerning the fact that her childhood home in Oakland, California, no longer existed.
Huh. I did not realise it was originally in reference to an actual _place_.
WTF does this mean? This sentence is grammatically incorrect.