Word Salad
“Any understanding of the propaganda model and of how consent and dissent are manufactured in a geopolitical world would more than explain those apparent incongruencies.”
Core Idea
Word salad is Adams’ term for responses that use sophisticated vocabulary but don’t form a coherent argument. It’s a tell that someone is experiencing cognitive dissonance - their filter has been challenged and they’re generating noise rather than engaging with the evidence.
The quote above is an actual response Adams received when asking someone to explain the Charlottesville narrative. It sounds intelligent but says nothing falsifiable or specific.
How to Recognize It
Word salad has several characteristics:
- Academic-sounding language without clear meaning
- No falsifiable claims - nothing you could prove wrong
- Topic avoidance - doesn’t address the specific question
- Emotional undertone - often condescending or dismissive
- Length without substance - many words, little content
Why It Happens
When confronted with evidence that contradicts a deeply held belief, the brain has limited options:
- Update the belief (psychologically costly)
- Dismiss the source (requires justification)
- Generate noise (word salad)
Word salad is the path of least resistance. It maintains the existing belief while creating the appearance of a response. The person feels like they’ve answered without actually engaging.
As a Diagnostic
Adams uses word salad as a signal that persuasion is unlikely to work. When someone produces word salad:
- They’re deep in their movie
- Evidence won’t change their mind
- Further argument is probably futile
The appropriate response is often to disengage or to simply note the pattern for observers.
See Also
- Cognitive Dissonance - The underlying mechanism
- Two Movies on One Screen - Why different people reach different conclusions
- Fine People Hoax - Where Adams observed this pattern extensively
Source Stats: ~45 mentions across ~35 episodes