The Secret Language of Cults Crash Course Lecture

The Secret Language of Cults: Crash Course Lecture ![rw-book-cover](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c7wCbbmLtiI/sddefault.jpg?v=68c98351) 🔗 **Source:** [The Secret Language of Cults: Crash Course Lecture](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7wCbbmLtiI) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: #cult-psychology #persuasive-language #social-influence #cognitive-bias #group-dynamics #manipulation #critical-thinking > author: Amanda Montell > source: Crash Course > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7wCbbmLtiI > date created: 2025-01-28 00:00 > > # 🏷️ Title: The Secret Language of Cults: Crash Course Lecture >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Develop checklist for identifying cultish language patterns — workplace safety #critical-thinking - [H2] Audit MLM recruitment tactics in social media — content moderation #manipulation - [H3] Create media literacy curriculum on thought-terminating cliches — education #cult-psychology ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [[#📝 Summary]] - [[#📖 Main Content]] - [[#🗒️ Notes]] - [[#📚 References]] - [[#🗣️ Paraphrase]] - [[#📰 Newsletter]] - [[#✅ Action Items]] - [[#🧪 Hypotheses]] - [[#📊 Methodology]] - [[#❓ Questions]] - [[#🔮 Future Research]] - [[#💡 Implications]] - [[#🧠 Learning Styles Assessment]] - [[#📊 Accessibility Assessment]] - [[#🌍 DEIB Assessment]] - [[#✅ Logical Validity]] - [[#🛡️ DARVO Analysis]] - [[#🎯 Conclusion]] ### 🔗 References - [Crash Course](https://www.youtube.com/c/crashcourse) - [Amanda Montell's Books](https://amandamontell.com) ## 📝 Summary - Amanda Montell examines how cult language tactics permeate everyday life through corporate jargon, MLMs, and social media - Her father's experience escaping Synanon cult demonstrates how scientific thinking and external education create resistance - Modern society's isolation and institutional distrust create unprecedented vulnerability to cultish influence - Language techniques like thought-terminating cliches and loaded buzzwords exploit cognitive biases - The solution involves balancing healthy skepticism with recognition that some "cultish" behavior serves positive human needs ## 📖 Main Content Linguist Amanda Montell explores how the same language strategies used by notorious cults like Synanon and Jonestown appear throughout modern life—from fitness studios to corporate environments to social media influencers. Drawing on her father's childhood experience in the Synanon therapeutic community, she demonstrates how thought-terminating cliches, loaded language, and euphemisms create linguistic prisons that reshape reality. The modern era represents unprecedented vulnerability to cultish influence due to widespread loneliness, institutional distrust, and algorithmic amplification of extreme content. Our brains' cognitive shortcuts—confirmation bias, illusory truth effect, and sunk cost fallacy—make us susceptible to manipulation through repetitive language and in-group/out-group dynamics. However, Montell argues that not all "cultish" behavior is harmful. The key is maintaining critical thinking skills while recognizing that humans naturally seek community and meaning through shared language and rituals. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=0) — [H1] Introduction to cult language power - Key idea: Certain word combinations can control minds like incantations - Evidence: "From Jesus to Jim Jones to Jeff Bezos, but also Taylor Swift, Peloton instructors, and even old friends selling essential oils" #### ⏱️ [02:47](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=167) — [H2] Modern cultish era characteristics - Key idea: We're living in the most cultish era of all time due to chaos and institutional decline - Evidence: "Over the last 50 years, our faith in institutions has been in steady decline" #### ⏱️ [04:12](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=252) — [H2] Father's Synanon background story - Key idea: 1960s counterculture created conditions similar to today's social upheaval - Evidence: "Craig was all of 14 when he moved with his family to Synanon" #### ⏱️ [06:23](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=383) — [H3] Cult definition evolution - Key idea: "Cult" transformed from neutral religious term to symbol of danger - Evidence: "The earliest written usage of cult traces back to the 1600s when the word meant homage paid to divinity" #### ⏱️ [09:45](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=585) — [H2] Psychological checklist for cults - Key idea: Rubrics help identify dangerous groups beyond "vibes" - Evidence: "Charismatic and idol worshipped leader, financial exploitation, extreme paranoia about outside world" #### ⏱️ [11:30](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=690) — [H1] Modern isolation and digital vulnerability - Key idea: Social media and loneliness create perfect conditions for cultish influence - Evidence: "30% had felt lonely every single week during the last year" #### ⏱️ [14:25](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=865) — [H2] QAnon as digital cult example - Key idea: Online groups build community around jargon instead of physical spaces - Evidence: "QAnoners use a glossary of lofty, vague, and everchanging vocabulary like 5D consciousness" #### ⏱️ [16:41](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=1001) — [H1] The Game at Synanon - Key idea: Euphemistic language disguised psychological abuse as therapy - Evidence: "The game could be hostile and even traumatizing. And yet in Synanon language, it was described as something you played" #### ⏱️ [19:15](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=1155) — [H2] Performativity theory and reality creation - Key idea: Language doesn't just describe reality, it creates it - Evidence: "Speech itself has the ability to cause measurable changes in the world" #### ⏱️ [21:03](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=1263) — [H1] Thought-terminating cliches mechanism - Key idea: Zingy phrases shut down independent thinking and questioning - Evidence: "Act as if was rooted in the belief that anything invented by Chuck Dederich had to be good" #### ⏱️ [24:12](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=1452) — [H2] Corporate cultish language - Key idea: Workplace jargon uses same manipulation tactics as cults - Evidence: "Amazon encourages employees to memorize the principles when they're hired, then live and breathe them" #### ⏱️ [27:34](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=1654) — [H2] MLM language strategies - Key idea: Multi-level marketing uses grandiose titles and optimism to mask exploitation - Evidence: "Director, executive, triple grand diamond, most distinguished mistress of linguistics" #### ⏱️ [30:45](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=1845) — [H3] Gradual meaning distortion - Key idea: Cult leaders slowly twist familiar words until they have new threatening meanings - Evidence: "Old soul was warped to mean someone who'd reincarnated life after life and could never get it right" #### ⏱️ [33:20](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=2000) — [H1] Cognitive biases as vulnerabilities - Key idea: Our evolutionary programming makes us susceptible to cult tactics - Evidence: "Confirmation bias, illusory truth effect, sunk cost fallacy" #### ⏱️ [36:15](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=2175) — [H1] Father's escape through science - Key idea: Critical thinking and external education provided resistance to cult influence - Evidence: "The lab was his sanctuary. It was the one space governed by questions and empirical facts" #### ⏱️ [39:42](https://youtu.be/c7wCbbmLtiI?t=2382) — [H2] Healthy cultishness conclusion - Key idea: Not all cultish behavior is bad; humans naturally seek community through shared language - Evidence: "Being a little irrational about the things we love together, well, that's a core part of being human" ## 📚 References - [Synanon Historical Documentation](https://synanonhistory.com) - [Robert J. Lifton on Thought Reform](https://www.amazon.com/Thought-Reform-Psychology-Totalism-Brainwashing/dp/0807842532) - [Cult Education Institute](https://culteducation.com) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Cult language tactics pervade modern life through corporate jargon, MLM schemes, and social media, exploiting our psychological vulnerabilities and need for belonging - Historical cult analysis reveals how euphemisms and loaded language gradually reshape reality by exploiting cognitive biases like confirmation bias and illusory truth effect - The solution involves developing critical thinking skills while accepting that some "cultish" community-building through shared language serves legitimate human needs for connection and meaning ## 📰 Newsletter **Breaking Down Cult Language in Everyday Life** Ever notice how your workplace uses buzzwords that sound important but mean nothing? Linguist Amanda Montell's fascinating analysis reveals how the same language tactics used by dangerous cults appear throughout modern life—from fitness studios to social media influencers. **Key insight**: We're living in the most cultish era ever due to widespread loneliness and institutional distrust, making us vulnerable to manipulation through thought-terminating cliches and loaded language that exploit our evolutionary psychology. **Practical application**: Develop healthy skepticism by recognizing when language shuts down questioning rather than encouraging it, while understanding that some community-building through shared terminology serves legitimate human needs. **Essential lesson**: Critical thinking and exposure to diverse information sources—like Montell's father's science education during his Synanon childhood—provide the best defense against linguistic manipulation. Resources: [Media Literacy Project](https://medialiteracyproject.org/), [Critical Thinking Foundation](https://criticalthinking.org/), [Cult Recovery Resources](https://icsahome.com/) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Create awareness campaigns about cultish language in tech recruiting and onboarding processes - Education: Develop workshops on recognizing thought-terminating cliches in technical discussions and code review culture - Developer experience: Audit documentation for loaded language that creates unnecessary in-group/out-group dynamics - Developer marketing: Establish guidelines preventing MLM-style recruitment tactics in developer community outreach - Community management: Train moderators to identify and address cult-like behavior patterns in forums and chat channels #### OSPO - Policy & Governance: Review contribution guidelines for language that might shut down legitimate questioning or dissent - Security Management: Assess how social engineering attacks might exploit cultish community dynamics - Developer Support: Train support teams to recognize when corporate jargon becomes manipulative or exclusionary - Community Engagement: Establish transparent criteria for evaluating potentially cultish open source communities before partnership - Strategic Alignment: Create metrics for measuring healthy vs. unhealthy community attachment and loyalty patterns #### Community - Maintainers: Provide training on fostering critical thinking and healthy disagreement in project governance - Contributors: Develop onboarding that encourages questioning and prevents groupthink formation - Sponsors: Require transparency in funding relationships to prevent capture through economic manipulation - Ecosystem: Create cross-project standards for identifying and addressing cultish behavior in community spaces #### WordPress - Core: Review contributor onboarding for language that might inadvertently create cult-like loyalty expectations - Community: Audit WordCamp and meetup content guidelines to prevent MLM-style recruitment and manipulation tactics - Training: Integrate media literacy and critical thinking skills into WordPress education curricula - Marketing: Establish ethical guidelines preventing exploitation of community loyalty for commercial manipulation - Support: Train forum moderators to recognize and address thought-terminating responses in support interactions - Documentation: Review language for loaded buzzwords that might exclude newcomers or shut down legitimate criticism - Meta: Assess governance processes for vulnerability to linguistic manipulation and groupthink formation #### The WPCC - Programs: Include cult awareness and critical thinking training in fellowship and mentorship programs - Projects: Fund research into healthy vs. unhealthy community dynamics in open source ecosystems - Funding: Establish criteria for evaluating whether funding recipients exhibit concerning cultish characteristics #### FAIR - Technical independence: Document how linguistic manipulation can compromise technical decision-making processes - Policies: Require transparency in community governance to prevent cult-like leader worship or thought termination - Governance artifacts: Create templates for healthy disagreement and constructive criticism in project charters ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Organizations with higher rates of corporate jargon usage will show increased employee compliance but decreased innovation and critical thinking - Communities that actively encourage questioning and dissent will demonstrate greater resilience against manipulation and capture - Social media algorithms that prioritize engagement will disproportionately amplify content using cultish language patterns - Educational interventions teaching cult awareness will improve individuals' resistance to manipulation across multiple contexts ### 📊 Methodology - Longitudinal study comparing innovation metrics across companies with varying levels of corporate jargon usage - Content analysis of social media posts to identify correlation between engagement rates and thought-terminating language patterns - Randomized controlled trial of cult awareness education measuring subsequent susceptibility to influence attempts - Ethnographic study of online communities tracking the evolution of exclusive language and its effects on member behavior ### ❓ Questions - How can organizations maintain necessary coordination and culture while avoiding cultish language manipulation? - What specific linguistic markers most reliably predict when a community is becoming dangerously cult-like? - How might algorithmic design be modified to reduce amplification of thought-terminating content without suppressing legitimate community formation? ### 🔮 Future Research - Development of AI tools for detecting cultish language patterns in organizational and community communications - Investigation of how virtual and augmented reality environments might amplify or mitigate cult-like influence tactics - Cross-cultural analysis of how cultish language patterns vary across different linguistic and cultural contexts ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Organizations need explicit policies against thought-terminating language and procedures for encouraging healthy dissent - Policy: Platform governance requires consideration of how recommendation algorithms might amplify manipulative language patterns - Security: Social engineering attacks increasingly exploit cultish dynamics, requiring updated awareness training - Education: Media literacy curricula must include specific training on recognizing linguistic manipulation tactics - Funding: Grant-making organizations need criteria for evaluating whether recipients exhibit concerning power dynamics or thought control ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 12th grade (Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level) #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Clear examples with recognizable brands and organizations, visual metaphors - Improve: Infographics mapping cult language techniques, decision trees for identifying manipulation #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Excellent audio delivery with varied intonation and pacing - Improve: Podcast version with additional expert interviews and case studies #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Strong definitions, analogies to familiar concepts, clear terminology - Improve: Glossary of cult terminology, comparison charts between healthy and unhealthy language patterns #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Personal narrative creates emotional engagement - Improve: Interactive exercises for identifying cult language, role-playing scenarios for resistance #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear psychological frameworks, step-by-step analysis - Improve: Flowcharts for decision-making, quantitative data on cult effectiveness #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Community examples, discussion of group dynamics - Improve: Group discussion guides, collaborative analysis activities #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Reflection prompts, personal application - Improve: Self-assessment tools, journaling exercises for identifying personal vulnerabilities #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Evolution-based explanations for cognitive biases - Improve: Ecosystem analogies for community dynamics, environmental metaphors for information pollution ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Well-structured presentation with clear verbal transitions - Improve: Detailed alt text for any visual examples, transcript with timestamp markers #### Keyboard navigation - --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] What if I told you that there was an [00:02] incantation that could control people's [00:05] minds? A certain combination of words [00:08] used in the right order to bend people [00:11] to your will. What if there were whole [00:14] vocabularies of these complicated mazes [00:17] of buzzwords, mantras, euphemisms, [00:20] cliches, and redefinitions? [00:22] And these all add up to a kind of [00:25] spellbook that a select few of history's [00:28] greatest influencers secretly possess. [00:31] From Jesus to Jim Jones to Jeff Bezos, [00:35] but also Taylor Swift, Pelaton [00:39] instructors, and even old friends [00:41] selling essential oils in your DMs. And [00:44] here is the kicker. You are probably [00:48] under the spell of these words right [00:51] now. [00:52] This is a story about words. Words that [00:56] alter the course of history. Words that [00:59] hold invisible power. Power that can be [01:02] used for good or for evil. Hi, I'm [01:06] Amanda Montel and I'm a devoted follower [01:09] of the cult of social science. I'm a [01:12] social commentator with a background in [01:13] linguistics and the author of [01:15] non-fiction books including cultish and [01:17] the age of magical overthinking. Welcome [01:20] to a crash course lecture. [01:23] [Music] [01:28] If I described my yoga studio as a cult, [01:32] a certain image might come to mind. It's [01:35] not a cult really, but there's something [01:38] about it that's definitely cultish. [01:41] Cultesque, and that's something, it's [01:44] language. The language some fitness [01:47] studios use is striking. It's driven by [01:50] ideology, ritual, even dogma. They [01:54] promise a kind of belonging that isn't [01:56] necessarily bad, but it is at the very [01:59] least alternative. And it's not just [02:01] yoga studios and CrossFit gyms. There's [02:04] cultishness in the places we work, the [02:06] places we go for fun, and in our social [02:09] media feeds. This kind of language is [02:12] everywhere. Each of us is constantly [02:15] influenced by the very same language [02:17] strategies that created notorious cults [02:19] like Jonestown, Heavensgate, and Cinon. [02:24] Cultishness has been around throughout [02:26] human history, but it's different now, [02:29] ramped up. If you ask me, today we're [02:33] living in the most cultish era of all [02:35] time. Why? It's complicated. The modern [02:40] world is chaotic. Our systems are [02:42] riddled with labor and wealth [02:44] imbalances. Ads and influencers are [02:46] pushing us to consume more, while [02:49] environmentalists warn us we should be [02:51] consuming less. And the crushing [02:53] pressure to self-brand online has made [02:56] us so anxious that our cravings for [02:58] validation have become insatiable. [03:02] Not speaking from experience or [03:03] anything. In the past, during times of [03:06] turmoil, many people found at least some [03:08] comfort or guidance from traditional [03:10] authority figures like church leaders, [03:12] the government, news reporters, and [03:14] medical providers. But here in the US [03:16] over the last 50 years, our faith in [03:18] institutions has been in steady decline. [03:21] So much for comfort and guidance. [03:23] Meanwhile, in my friend group, we often [03:25] joke about starting a commune to deal [03:27] with housing costs. A compound just [03:29] makes sense in this economy. Are we [03:31] joking, though? [03:33] [Music] [03:38] These conundrums are all eerily [03:40] familiar. They remind me a great deal of [03:43] another time in history that I am very [03:46] familiar with. They remind me of the [03:48] world my dad Craig grew up in in the [03:51] 1960s. [03:53] I was raised on my dad's stranger than [03:56] fiction tales. Stories of this remote [03:58] stretch of land in California where kids [04:01] didn't go to a real school and adults [04:03] had to shave their heads if they broke a [04:05] rule. Stories about how his parents, [04:08] seeking a life free from the obsession [04:11] with work and wealth, took him and his [04:14] halfsisters and joined a cult. This tale [04:18] starts in 1969, [04:21] a time of incredible socopolitical [04:23] unrest in the United States. We're on [04:25] the heels of the John F. Kennedy [04:27] assassination [04:28] and civil rights movement [04:31] were in the throws of the Vietnam War. [04:34] In the face of all this, in the 1960s [04:36] and '7s, countercultural groups started [04:39] springing up full of people seeking ways [04:41] to thrive without relying on those [04:43] systems. from Woodstock era hippies and [04:46] transcendental meditators to more [04:48] sinister groups like the way [04:50] international and Scientology. It was so [04:53] dramatic that some scholars refer to [04:56] this period in the mid- 20th century as [04:58] the fourth great awakening, grouping it [05:00] together with other major religious [05:02] transitions in American history. And [05:04] here we find my dad or the person who [05:08] would become my dad because Craig was [05:11] all of 14 when he moved with his family [05:14] to Cinon. [05:16] Cinanon was a community that started as [05:20] an alternative drug rehab center but [05:22] expanded to attract lifestylers like my [05:25] grandparents. That was the word for [05:27] so-called squares who didn't need rehab [05:29] but still wanted in on this lifestyle [05:31] experiment. Best thing for people is [05:33] people and Cinon provides the [05:36] environment to bring together peoples [05:37] from all walks of life. [05:39] >> Cinon was the antidote to all the [05:40] problems of the modern day. Offering a [05:43] template for who to be and how to live [05:45] morally, sustainably, healthfully, which [05:48] I get. It relieved some of that stress I [05:51] mentioned at the start. It provided that [05:54] missing comfort and guidance. And at its [05:57] best, Cinanon was saving people's lives. [06:01] Moving there was truly transformative [06:02] for many, including talented artists and [06:05] musicians who chose to trade their [06:07] addictions for playing nightly tunes and [06:09] getting high on nothing but group [06:11] bonding. But from my dad's perspective, [06:14] things in Cinon were a little weird. [06:17] Like everyone dressed alike. Overalls, [06:20] short haircuts. It was actually pretty [06:23] hip by today's standards. Cult chic, [06:26] compound casual. members used all kinds [06:29] of special words and did mandatory [06:31] rituals. But the thing that really [06:33] freaked out my dad was how everyone was [06:36] so obsessed with Cinanon's visionary [06:39] leader, Chuck Dedric, a normal guy who [06:43] they treated as a man god. [06:46] So my dad became a loner just trying to [06:50] fly under the radar. As I grew up, I [06:52] became fascinated by groups like this, [06:55] wondering what drives the irrational and [06:59] overly uniform beliefs within them. And [07:01] I started to notice something. The same [07:04] kind of language that Cinanon used to [07:07] recruit and isolate their followers. It [07:10] was everywhere. This language can be [07:12] found in our everyday lives, [07:15] manipulating us even and especially in [07:19] places we wouldn't expect. [07:22] [Music] [07:27] But pause. Before we get much deeper, we [07:30] should figure out what the word cult [07:33] even means. Because on the surface, an [07:36] exercise bike company and a sober [07:38] compound in the hills don't have all [07:40] that much in common. I've heard it said [07:42] that cults are like porn. It's a joke [07:46] that references a famous 1964 Supreme [07:48] Court case where when asked for a [07:50] definition of pornography, Justice [07:52] Potter Stewart said, "I know it when I [07:55] see it." As soon as I say the word cult, [07:58] you might picture a certain image of [08:01] robes, a kind of dazed look, super long [08:05] hair, dirty feet. But that's just a [08:08] stereotype. The word cult hasn't always [08:12] had sinister undertones at all. Let's [08:15] take a detour to the 17th century. The [08:18] earliest written usage of cult traces [08:21] back to the 1600s when the word meant [08:23] homage paid to divinity or offerings to [08:26] win over the gods. 200 years later, by [08:28] the mid 1800s, cult evolved to mean a [08:31] kind of churchly categorization, more [08:33] like sect, used specifically to describe [08:36] ancient or primitive systems of [08:38] religious belief. The word conoted [08:40] something unorthodox maybe, but not [08:42] necessarily malignant. Around this time, [08:45] dozens of sociospiritual clicks were [08:47] cropping up and fading in the US. [08:49] Polyamorous communists, egalitarian [08:52] inventors, vegan farmers. There was [08:56] basically a cult or sect for anyone. I [08:59] mean, one of the reasons the US was [09:00] founded was for religious freedom. And [09:03] America had gained a reputation as the [09:05] sort of place where you were free to get [09:06] as socioposiritually freaky as you [09:09] liked. [09:11] It wasn't until the 1960s and 70s that [09:13] the word cult started gaining a darker [09:16] reputation. [09:17] The mass emergence of non-conformist [09:20] spiritual groups unsettled traditional [09:22] Christians. [09:24] Then came several high-profile cult [09:27] related tragedies. The Manson family [09:29] murders of 1969 where celebrities and [09:32] everyday people were killed in their [09:34] homes. and the Jonestown massacre of [09:37] 1978 where over 900 people unwillingly [09:40] took their lives under the influence of [09:42] their leader. From there, the word cult [09:45] was solidified as a national symbol of [09:47] peril. What followed was a period in the [09:51] 1980s known as the satanic panic when [09:54] conspiracy theories about cults abusing [09:56] suburban kids spread around the US like [09:59] wildfire. [10:01] Here's what I find especially [10:02] interesting, though. As soon as cult [10:05] became synonymous with harm and infamy [10:07] in the 70s, it also became kind of cool. [10:12] That's why we have slang like cult [10:14] following and cult classic to describe [10:16] midnight showings of the Rocky Horror [10:18] Picture Show or the followings of jam [10:20] bands like the Grateful Dead. This wink [10:22] wink hyperbolic interpretation of the [10:24] word to describe devoted fan bases is [10:26] why I can cheekily reference soul cycle [10:29] as a cult brand or describe Disney [10:32] adults as culty. And you know I'm not [10:36] talking about communes and death. At [10:38] least hopefully not. Which brings us [10:41] back to the task at hand. I was supposed [10:44] to be defining cult here but as you can [10:47] see it's really hard. You understand how [10:50] we get to I know it when I see it. [10:52] Because that's the thing about language. [10:55] In everyday practice, definitions are [10:57] determined not by academics or [10:59] dictionary makers, but by us, the [11:01] speakers. Meaning depends on the person [11:04] you're talking to and the context. Like [11:07] when cult is used to write off groups [11:09] that mainstream society judges, folk [11:11] magic practitioners, for example. [11:13] There's more on that aspect of the term [11:15] in Crash Course Religions. But when it [11:17] comes to sinister cults, it can be [11:20] helpful to have a less vibes driven [11:22] definition. A number of psychologists [11:24] have developed rubrics for this. They [11:26] include things like, does it have a [11:28] charismatic and idol worshipped leader [11:30] who offers validation and is the only [11:33] source of truth and wisdom? Is there [11:35] abuse, including financial, sexual, and [11:38] or labor exploitation? Is there extreme [11:41] paranoia about the outside world and no [11:44] tolerance for questioning? Is there [11:46] meaningful financial transparency and is [11:49] there a viable exit strategy? That's the [11:52] checklist I tend to use personally and [11:54] it comes in part from psychiatrist [11:56] Robert J. Lifton and in part from the [11:58] Cult Education Institute. There's [12:00] ongoing disagreement among scholars [12:02] about what should go on these lists. But [12:04] the point is when I say something is [12:06] cultish, it usually checks off at least [12:09] one of these boxes. The checklist can be [12:11] applied broadly. Like I can think of [12:14] some celebrated Hollywood clicks, [12:16] Silicon Valley companies, and fitness [12:18] studios that check some of these. And [12:21] unfortunately, you won't find a major [12:23] religion that doesn't check some of them [12:24] either. But I see the world through a [12:27] socio- linguistics lens. So for me, the [12:30] most interesting connection here isn't [12:32] that you can find abuses of power [12:34] everywhere. It's that you can find the [12:37] same type of language everywhere. [12:40] strategic language that holds a lot of [12:43] power and influence. Society has changed [12:46] since 1969 when my dad joined Cinon and [12:50] it's primed us to become the most [12:52] cultish era ever. [12:56] [Music] [13:00] But before we can get into the real [13:02] cultine, we've got to understand what [13:04] happened in the 1960s when my dad moved [13:07] with my grandparents to Cinon. It was a [13:09] time of cultural turbulence and fear, [13:12] not all that different from today. But [13:14] this was also before the internet, [13:18] before social media. To learn about [13:20] Cinanon, my grandfather had to get up, [13:24] leave the house, and talk to people in [13:27] person. Contain your shock, Jenzie. But [13:29] in today's world, we're more isolated. [13:32] In 2024, an American Psychiatric [13:34] Association poll surveyed over 2,000 [13:36] American adults and found that 30% had [13:39] felt lonely every single week during the [13:42] last year. So, how did this happen? [13:45] According to a 2024 survey from Harvard, [13:48] participants reported being overworked, [13:51] not seeing family enough, a lack of [13:53] spiritual life, and the biggest culprit [13:56] for loneliness is digital technology. [13:59] Let's be real, skimming through your [14:01] friend's life updates isn't the same as [14:03] catching up IRL. Add to all this the [14:05] fact that we've basically got a tragedy [14:07] on demand machine in our pocket at all [14:09] times. A 2019 report from John's Hopkins [14:12] University looked at young people who [14:13] spent more than 3 hours per day on [14:15] social media, and it found that those [14:18] people internalized problems more, [14:20] making it harder to cope with depression [14:22] and anxiety. So many of us are more [14:24] disconnected than ever while also [14:27] carrying the weight of the world in our [14:29] pockets. It's like we've forgotten we're [14:32] humans. We're all about community. It's [14:36] part of how we managed to survive as a [14:38] species for so long. And if we're not [14:40] getting community in person, many will [14:42] try to fill that relationship void some [14:45] other way. Cue the heavenly internet. # [14:49] blessing us with the keys to find any [14:51] kind of community we could ever want. In [14:54] a way, that's beautiful. But when I say [14:58] any kind of community, I mean any kind, [15:01] including fanatical fringe groups with [15:04] charismatic leaders who are paranoid [15:06] about outsiders who think they have all [15:09] the answers and whose beliefs are [15:11] dangerous to question. Unlike my [15:13] grandfather, we don't have to leave our [15:16] homes to subscribe to new ideologies. We [15:19] can be profoundly influenced without [15:21] even leaving the couch. Today, most [15:23] zealous fringe groups build a digital [15:26] system of morality and community. And in [15:29] lie of a physical meeting place, jargon [15:32] gives them something to assemble around. [15:35] I'll never forget when I first [15:36] downloaded Instagram in the summer of [15:38] 2012. I was struck that the app called [15:42] its account holders followers instead of [15:45] friends or connections. It's like a cult [15:48] platform. I remember saying, "Is it not [15:50] encouraging everyone to build their own [15:52] little cult?" And while these platforms [15:54] claim to make an effort to stop truly [15:57] dangerous ideas and disinformation from [15:59] spreading, those safety nets certainly [16:01] don't catch everything. Ultimately, [16:04] algorithms tend to prioritize spicy [16:06] content, whether or not it's true. In [16:09] fact, one 2018 MIT study found it takes [16:12] true stories about six times longer than [16:15] false ones to reach 1500 people on the [16:17] app formerly known as Twitter. Why? [16:20] Because false information seems more [16:22] novel, more exclusive, and wise, [16:26] authentic in its outlandishness. [16:29] Here's an example of how this has [16:31] worked. QAnon, a disperate online group [16:34] which has been linked to real world [16:35] extremist violence. Q Anon involves a [16:39] kind of spiderweb of different [16:41] conspiracy theories, rituals, and [16:42] buzzwords, all of which promise answers [16:45] in these uncertain times. The most [16:47] extreme of QAnon's ideologies attest [16:50] that an evil cabal of elites or satan [16:53] worshipping child abusers secretly runs [16:55] Hollywood, the media, and the Democratic [16:58] Party. And Donald Trump was divinely [17:01] sent to save America and the world from [17:03] this vast evil. Q Anon rose in fame and [17:06] popularity not through in-person [17:08] meetings but rather internet forums and [17:10] social media posts. Qanoners use a [17:13] glossery of lofty, vague, and [17:16] everchanging vocabulary like 5D [17:18] consciousness and do the research in [17:21] order to intrigue curious recruits who [17:24] might not get on board with overtly [17:25] violent language out of the gate. They [17:27] also do this to avoid the surveillance [17:29] of social media companies who might be [17:31] on high alert for QAnon threats and shut [17:33] down accounts that use certain [17:35] terminology. It's easy enough to dismiss [17:38] online cults as not threatening in the [17:40] real world, but the influence of groups [17:42] like QAnon has led to very real harm. [17:45] For example, in 2016, a man radicalized [17:49] online showed up at a pizza parlor in DC [17:51] that was the center of a bogus [17:53] conspiracy theory. It was spread on [17:56] sites like 4chan, which became a major [17:58] hub for KQAnon. He opened fire in the [18:01] restaurant and told police he was there [18:04] to self-investigate the conspiracy [18:06] theory. [18:07] Of course, KQanon is not the cult for [18:10] everyone. But what about influencer [18:13] fandoms, which seem positive at first, [18:16] but end up taking over someone's whole [18:18] value system? In today's world, many of [18:20] us find ourselves in parasocial [18:23] relationships where we feel like we have [18:25] a special connection with someone we see [18:27] online. And when someone makes us feel [18:29] known and seen, especially if we're [18:32] isolated from the people around us, [18:34] that's a well doumented risk factor for [18:36] falling prey to charismatic cult [18:38] leaders. So in 2025, our ultimate cult [18:41] leader may be father algorithm and [18:44] comment sections are new compound. It's [18:46] easier than ever to fall into nefarious [18:48] ideas or get wrapped up in something [18:50] cultish. And the really wild thing is [18:53] the language tricks that cult leaders [18:55] use, our brains are actually wired to [18:59] fall for them. [19:01] [Music] [19:06] So, what are those tricks and how do [19:08] they work? Enter the game. The most [19:13] memorable of my dad's Cinon stories had [19:16] to do with something called the game. [19:18] The game was the centerpiece of Cinon [19:21] life, and it was essentially a form of [19:24] endurance training or group therapy [19:26] where followers gathered around in [19:28] so-called tribes and were invited to [19:31] single out other members to verbally [19:33] berate them. The game could be hostile [19:36] and even traumatizing. And yet in [19:39] Cinanon language, it was described as [19:41] something you played. And playing was [19:45] required even for kids. It happened [19:47] several nights a week and might involve, [19:49] say, one member calling out another with [19:52] whom they had personal beef and shouting [19:54] at them for being lazy or spoiled. This [19:56] was called a pull-up. Then others were [19:59] encouraged to join in on the vitriol, [20:02] also known as backing the play. Life in [20:05] Cinon was framed within two rhetorical [20:07] categories, in the game and out of the [20:10] game. And when you were in the game, [20:12] nothing else in the world existed. After [20:15] the game was finished, you were supposed [20:16] to compartmentalize, move on with your [20:18] daily Cinon tasks as if you hadn't just [20:21] been verbally maligned for 7 hours, [20:25] you know. And people say, "Well, what is [20:26] the Cinon lifestyle?" We all play the [20:28] game here, the Cinon game. and that the [20:30] contrast between the game and the notame [20:33] is what makes up the lifestyle. [20:35] >> When I heard about all this, I was [20:38] fascinated by the way Cinanon used [20:40] euphemisms and insidery buzzwords to [20:43] reshape followers reality. It sent a [20:46] shiver down my spine. My dad said that [20:49] some members, like my grandfather, were [20:51] actually addicted to it. In this way, [20:54] the game kind of reminds me of when [20:56] online comment sections get really [20:57] heated. You know when people can't stop [21:00] posting negative or conspiratorial [21:02] comments, thinking they're calling [21:04] someone out for some moral infraction, [21:06] but really they're just aiming for clout [21:09] and maybe catharsis. Let me know what [21:12] you think of that idea in the comments [21:13] below. The Cinon game was like that, but [21:17] in real life. Describing what it felt [21:20] like to play the game at 14, my dad [21:23] said, "To me, the torrent of heated [21:25] accusations felt like verbal carpet [21:28] bombing. I wished I were invisible." He [21:31] felt constantly gaslit, trapped in the [21:34] linguistic prison of the game. [21:37] Okay, buckle up. Things are about to get [21:40] nerdy. In linguistics, there's a concept [21:43] known as the theory of performativity, [21:45] which argues that language doesn't just [21:47] describe or reflect our reality, it [21:50] creates it. The idea here is that speech [21:52] itself has the ability to cause [21:55] measurable changes in the world. If that [21:57] sounds a little hocus pocus, think about [22:00] when a justice of the peace pronounces a [22:02] couple married or when an umpire calls [22:05] you're out. That's how that works, [22:07] right? Not really in the cult of sports. [22:10] And in synonyon, that exclusive, heavily [22:13] repeated jargon, including phrases like [22:15] in the game and out of the game, plus [22:17] all the charged verbiage wielded during [22:19] the game itself, worked to create a new [22:22] reality for followers. Studies have [22:25] shown that repeating words and phrases [22:27] makes our beliefs stronger. This is a [22:30] describable phenomenon. It's called the [22:33] illusory truth effect. The illusory [22:35] truth effect is one of many mental [22:37] shortcuts that our brains used to make [22:39] efficient decisions. And for most of [22:42] human history before a time when [22:44] misinformation could spread so fast and [22:46] far online, the illusory truth effect [22:49] worked well enough. Like picture you're [22:51] a hunter gatherer. You're not on blue [22:54] sky, okay? If everyone in your community [22:57] tells you the red berries in the swamp [22:58] are poisonous, that's going to stick. It [23:01] might even save your life when you're [23:02] out foraging. And if that isn't true, at [23:05] least it didn't hurt. The trouble is, [23:08] our minds are still inclined to [23:10] interpret any repeated phrases as [23:12] reality. Like, if you heard something [23:15] repeatedly during the Cinon game, even [23:17] if it was cruel, even if it was untrue, [23:20] it could easily start to feel like a [23:22] fact. And if you wanted to question [23:24] that, if you confided to a friend that [23:27] actually you don't think the game is [23:29] helpful, they might respond with the [23:31] synonym phrase act as if. Essentially, [23:35] this was a cue to pretend you agree with [23:37] the cult's rules until one day you [23:40] sincerely do. You know that phrase, fake [23:42] it till you make it? This was kind of [23:44] like Cinanon's version of that. But in [23:46] Cinon, act as if was rooted in the [23:49] belief that anything invented by Chuck [23:51] Dedrich had to be good because he was [23:53] supremely wise. Act as if is an example [23:56] of a cult language technique called the [23:59] thought terminating cliche. [24:01] Thought-terminating cliche was coined by [24:03] psychiatrist Robert J. Lifton in 1961. [24:06] And it describes a kind of zingy stack [24:08] expression that's easy to memorize, easy [24:11] to repeat, and at its worst is aimed at [24:13] shutting down independent thinking, [24:15] questioning, or push back. [24:17] Thought-terminating cliches combined [24:19] with another linguistic strategy to keep [24:21] Chuck in power. loaded language, aka [24:25] emotionally charged labels and buzzwords [24:27] that meant something innocuous or [24:29] nothing at all to outsiders, but could [24:31] be used on followers to create an us [24:33] versus them mentality or even make [24:35] psychological threats. Like, does the [24:38] term splitty mean anything to you? [24:41] Probably not. But in Cinon, that was the [24:44] label used to describe those who'd left [24:46] the group, the ultimate betrayal and [24:48] cardinal sin. Loaded buzzwords like [24:50] these are hyper effective because they [24:53] jive well with our brains tendency to [24:55] form in-groups and outroups. And again, [24:57] detecting social patterns like these has [24:59] historically been really helpful for [25:01] survival. But when a community's aims [25:03] are more cerebral than foraging for [25:06] food, relying on our crude us versus [25:08] them instincts rather than critical [25:10] thinking becomes a problem. But to [25:12] people in Cinon, this might not have [25:14] felt nefarious at all. It may have even [25:17] felt fun. In my experience talking to [25:20] survivors, cultish language is often the [25:23] first thing you pick up when you get [25:24] involved with an in-group and the last [25:26] thing you let go because it's organic, [25:29] invisible, and seemingly [25:31] commitment-free. Remember learning pig [25:34] Latin on the playground as a kid? It was [25:36] like a secret code, and it immediately [25:39] made you feel like one of the cool kids, [25:40] right? [25:41] >> What's that? [25:43] >> Well, at least I thought they were cool. [25:45] Anyway, pig Latin is pretty far from [25:48] synonyon lingo. And so far, you might be [25:50] thinking you've been able to escape the [25:52] worst of cultish influence. Trust me, I [25:55] get it. I'd like to think I have, too. [25:58] But it's not just infamous cult leaders [26:00] who've caught on to this. In fact, this [26:03] kind of manipulative language is sused [26:05] into our everyday lives in ways we don't [26:08] even notice. [26:11] [Music] [26:15] Introducing corporate jargon. You might [26:18] not work at a company where people walk [26:20] around saying things as ridiculous as we [26:23] need to leverage our synergies to drive [26:25] innovative solutions. Or maybe you do, [26:28] in which case, wo. But most companies [26:31] have some kind of loaded language used [26:34] to motivate people to work hard and help [26:36] them feel like they're a part of the [26:37] company mission. A business scholar [26:39] named Manfred Frqued Devise explained to [26:42] me that in the workplace an excess use [26:44] of slogans, code words, meaningless [26:47] corporate jargon, and company chance can [26:50] be a clue in distinguishing if an [26:52] employer is treading into dangerously [26:54] cultlike territory. In his words, quote, [26:57] "All companies have special terms, and [26:59] sometimes they make sense, but sometimes [27:01] they're nonsense." As a consultant, I [27:04] sometimes enter an organization where [27:05] people use acronyms, but they don't [27:07] actually know what they're talking [27:08] about. They're just imitating what top [27:11] management says. A famous example of [27:13] this is Amazon, a company whose ideals [27:17] take classic American values like [27:19] meritocracy, individual ambition, and [27:22] climbing ladders, and institutionalizes [27:24] them into what I interpret as a [27:26] religious dogma of sorts. For example, [27:30] Amazon has its own version of the Ten [27:32] Commandments, so to speak, called the [27:34] leadership principles. They include high [27:36] flulutent phrases like think big, dive [27:39] deep, have backbone, and deliver [27:42] results. According to the New York [27:44] Times, Amazon encourages employees to [27:47] memorize the principles when they're [27:48] hired, then live and breathe them both [27:51] in and outside the office, like biblical [27:53] proverbs. Some employees even teach them [27:56] to their kids. Ex Amazon employee and [27:58] writer Christy Coulter once told me that [28:01] some employees misinterpret the [28:03] leadership principles as a justification [28:06] for asserting power over their [28:07] co-workers. Like using the disagree and [28:10] commit principle as an excuse to pick [28:13] fights or tear apart fellow employees [28:15] pitches in meetings almost as a stunt to [28:18] demonstrate their loyalty to Amazon's [28:20] mission. Not terribly unlike the Cinon [28:23] game. In a society where work and [28:26] consumerism are slowly replacing [28:28] classical religious institutions as a [28:31] system of belief and belonging, this [28:33] kind of language is worth keeping an ear [28:36] out for. An even more famous example [28:39] comes from the multi-level marketing [28:41] industry, aka MLMs. This is Tupperware. [28:48] You can freeze it, stack it any which [28:52] way. [28:53] >> Within pyramid-shaped MLMs, recruits [28:56] sell products like leggings or health [28:58] supplements to their family and friends, [29:01] in turn, luring these people to become [29:04] sellers themselves. Recruits are [29:06] regarded as business owners, even though [29:09] none of the traditional rules of [29:10] entrepreneurship apply. MLM acolytes are [29:13] labeled consultants or distributors. And [29:16] the higher one moves at the structure, [29:18] the more grandiose their titles become. [29:21] Director, executive, triple ground [29:24] diamond, most distinguished mistress of [29:27] linguistics. [29:29] Yeah, I can see why that's appealing. [29:31] What's fascinating about MLMs is that [29:33] they're not actually selling financial [29:35] independence in any concrete way. [29:38] Instead, they're selling something much [29:40] more abstract and very American. [29:44] Optimism. Faith that you can achieve the [29:47] American dream, even if it's numerically [29:50] impossible. And that promise is made [29:53] with this sparkly language. [29:55] Imagine a note like this sliding into [29:57] your DMs from an old high school [29:59] classmate. Hey, girly pop. Loving your [30:02] posts lately. You have such an amazing [30:04] energy. Have you ever thought about [30:06] turning that energy into your own [30:08] business? I used to be miserable at my [30:10] old 9 to5 and now I make a full-time [30:12] living working part-time for myself from [30:15] home without ever having to leave my [30:16] little one's side. Would love to grab [30:19] coffee and tell you more. Data shows [30:22] that since the Tupperware party days, [30:24] MLMs tend to target stay-at-home wives [30:27] and mothers, as well as other [30:28] demographics like college students and [30:30] immigrant communities who are generally [30:32] locked out of the dignified labor market [30:34] and simultaneously seeking purpose. They [30:38] also tend to have a strong base of [30:40] friends and family to recruit from, lots [30:42] of hope for the future, and at least [30:44] some spare money and time that they'll [30:47] likely never get back. Even beyond work, [30:50] similar strategies stretch into our [30:52] niche interests, our fandoms. Like, [30:55] don't get me wrong, I love T-Swift's Red [30:59] Album. But it isn't lost on me that [31:03] Swifties have a robust glossery of fan [31:05] lingo used to build community around [31:08] their parasocial god. References like [31:10] Kalor and Gaylers, the numbers 13 and [31:13] 89, and phrases like not a lot going on [31:16] at the moment are used to make fans feel [31:18] part of a movement, to give them power, [31:21] to show their real devotees above casual [31:24] listeners, countless internet [31:26] communities, from fantasy sports leagues [31:29] to political forums, have loaded [31:31] language of their own, too. And while it [31:34] can be used to construct a positive [31:37] sense of belonging, DFTBA, am I right? [31:40] It can also create needless us versus [31:42] them conflicts and shut down independent [31:44] thought, especially if the people [31:46] involved don't quite know why they're [31:49] saying these chants and buzzwords that [31:50] incite such strong emotions. That [31:53] language tobrain connection is powerful. [31:56] It can be used to bind someone to an [31:59] in-group and make them feel like they [32:00] can never leave. It can be used to [32:02] confuse a follower so they start to [32:05] believe the only way to know what's true [32:07] and guarantee their safety is to depend [32:10] on the all- knowing leader forever. [32:15] [Music] [32:25] Okay, so we've talked about what a cult [32:27] is, how language is a cult leader's most [32:30] powerful and sneakiest tool, and why [32:33] modern society is so susceptible to [32:35] these strategies. But there's still a [32:37] question that haunts me. If cultishness [32:40] shows up in the words we use every day, [32:42] if we can hear it around us, then how is [32:46] it still so effective? Cultish language [32:49] can actually be really hard to clock [32:51] because it often evolves slowly. For [32:54] example, sometimes cult leaders take [32:57] existing English words that followers [32:59] have been using their whole lives and [33:00] gradually twist their meanings until [33:03] they have a whole new definition that [33:05] serves the cult. I once interviewed a [33:07] survivor of the healthy, happy, holy [33:09] organization or 3HO, a dogmatic [33:12] condundalini yoga based group who told [33:14] me that one common English term that [33:16] meant something totally different to her [33:18] group was old soul. To most of us, old [33:22] soul describes someone who's wise beyond [33:25] their years. It's a positive thing. But [33:27] to a 3o member, the phrase was warped to [33:30] mean someone who'd reincarnated life [33:32] after life and could never get it right. [33:35] It was threatening and it could be used [33:37] to frighten followers into obedience [33:40] because if you broke one of 3's rules, [33:42] like by eating meat or failing to study [33:45] scripture at a certain time, you'd be at [33:47] risk of lowering your vibration and [33:50] becoming an old soul. [33:54] In different flavors and with varying [33:56] aesthetics, this kind of language is [33:58] used to coers people in all destructive [34:00] cults. But people don't fall for things [34:03] like this because they're foolish. In [34:05] large part, it's because cult leaders [34:07] are taking advantage of not just the [34:09] power of language, but also a handful of [34:12] vulnerabilities that have been hardwired [34:14] into our heads since the days when we [34:17] spent most of our time gathering nuts [34:18] and berries. I see it like this. The [34:21] brain is like an operating system. Let's [34:24] call it OS human. In lots of ways, OS [34:27] human is really advanced these days. It [34:30] can send a text message and open 250 [34:32] browser tabs at the same time. Not to [34:34] brag, but in other ways, it's the same [34:36] basic operating system we've been using [34:38] since we started walking upright. For [34:40] one thing, OS human has a strong natural [34:43] inclination toward communalism, loyalty [34:46] to our own group, which we may view as [34:48] superior to other groups. And this makes [34:50] sense evolutionarily. The famous [34:53] biologist Charles Darwin pointed out [34:55] that for survival purposes, it's ideal [34:57] to have a relatively small community. [34:59] Think about it. It's way easier to take [35:02] care of a few dozen people than a few [35:04] hundred or a few billion. But our world [35:07] is much larger now. We're connected to [35:09] way more people. And yet, OS human [35:12] hasn't completely updated. We still tend [35:15] to be fiercely loyal to the insular [35:17] groups we're a part of. even if they're [35:20] virtual, even if they're not really our [35:23] groups in any sense resembling what [35:25] Darwin was talking about. And here's the [35:27] thing, that OS human source code was [35:30] built on some not so reliable [35:32] foundations. This is due to cognitive [35:35] biases, psychological tricks that [35:38] developed in early human brains to help [35:40] us make efficient decisions with our [35:42] limited time, memory, and brain power. [35:45] The illusory truth effect I mentioned [35:46] earlier is one of them. Another is [35:49] confirmation bias. This is our tendency [35:52] to only seek out, notice, and [35:54] internalize information that validates [35:56] what we already believe. Confirmation [35:59] bias can make it hard to accept or even [36:01] notice new contradictory information. It [36:04] allows us only to hear what we want to [36:07] hear. And part of a cult leader's [36:09] charisma is their ability to intuitit [36:12] this. Like going back to Jonestown, one [36:15] survivor named Laura Johnston Cole once [36:17] told me I was there for political [36:19] reasons. So Jim thought, "Every time I [36:21] see Laura sitting in a meeting, I have [36:23] to address politics. I let him address [36:26] my priorities and put blinders on for [36:28] other things." This is classic [36:31] confirmation bias. One more major flaw [36:34] in OS human, the sunk cost fallacy. This [36:38] is the belief that if you've already [36:39] spent resources on something like money [36:42] and time or even hope and secrets, you [36:45] can't give that thing up. If you've [36:48] already sunk 10 years and your life [36:50] savings into a group that promised you [36:52] transcendence, you're going to be [36:54] heavily motivated to justify your [36:56] choices to prove that any day now the [36:59] time and hope you put in will pay off. [37:02] Sun cost fallacy plus thought [37:04] terminating cliche. [37:06] Game over. [37:07] That's the power of cultish language [37:09] over an operating system full of [37:12] cognitive biases. [37:14] [Music] [37:19] So there are all these factors working [37:22] against people getting out of cults. [37:24] Sometimes it can seem nearly impossible [37:26] to escape. But there is reason for hope. [37:30] Here's the story of how my dad got out. [37:33] When my dad was in high school, he was [37:35] in the thick of it. He was surrounded by [37:37] friends, family, teachers, doctors. [37:40] Everyone around him had so fully [37:42] absorbed the language of Cinanon that [37:44] there was really no other language [37:45] spoken. There was no education except [37:49] cult education. Cinanon kids were [37:51] required to go to the school on site, [37:54] which wasn't teaching multiplication [37:56] tables or multiple perspectives. It was [37:58] designed to keep them solidly imshed in [38:01] Cinanon culture. But Craig was [38:04] simultaneously learning to think in a [38:06] different way by being exposed to [38:08] science. He worked in the group's [38:11] microbiology lab where he'd test [38:13] followers for diseases because they [38:15] wanted to avoid outside hospitals. In a [38:18] way, the lab was his sanctuary. It was [38:20] the one space in all of Cinanon that was [38:23] governed by questions and empirical [38:25] facts. It gave him practice thinking [38:28] critically and accessing a diversity of [38:31] information. And as his interest in [38:33] biology grew, he knew he'd need to go to [38:36] college if he wanted to continue to [38:37] learn. That meant he needed an [38:39] accredited degree from an outside high [38:42] school. So Craig began hitching rides [38:45] into San Francisco to attend one against [38:47] tradition and against the urging of [38:49] people around him. According to Chuck [38:51] Dedrich, Cinanon was utopia and leaving [38:54] it was a death sentence. But Craig did [38:57] it anyway. And with each passing day, [38:59] the world of Cinon felt more contrived [39:02] and toxic. Ultimately, when graduation [39:05] came, the decision to leave was actually [39:08] an easy one. In fact, he was desperate [39:11] to go. So, against the pressure of [39:14] everyone on the inside, he traded Cinon [39:16] for college, just in time to witness its [39:20] downfall from afar. [39:22] By the late 1970s, Chuck's act as if [39:25] protocols became harder to follow as his [39:28] dogma grew more and more extreme. For [39:30] example, some survivors say when Chuck's [39:33] doctor told him he needed to lose [39:35] weight, Chuck forced everyone else in [39:37] the group to go on strict diets, too, [39:39] coercing them to participate in [39:41] humiliating mass weigh-ins in the nude. [39:44] After Chuck's wife passed away from [39:45] cancer and he fell in love with someone [39:47] new, he demanded that everyone else go [39:49] through the same grief process as a [39:51] personal growth exercise and he [39:53] separated all the married couples in [39:55] Cinanon, then assign them new partners. [39:58] That was the last straw for Craig's dad [40:00] and stepmother, and they finally left [40:01] Cinon in 1977. As time went on, Chuck [40:05] also became increasingly paranoid about [40:08] outsiders. that inspired him to scrap [40:10] one of his original cardinal rules, no [40:13] violence. He instituted a personal [40:16] militia called the Imperial Marines, who [40:19] he mandated to physically beat [40:20] Splatizes, the traitorous defectors. [40:23] This all culminated in one last act of [40:26] violence. Chuck instructed his army to [40:28] place a rattlesnake in the mailbox of a [40:31] lawyer representing Splatizes. The snake [40:34] bit the lawyer, landing him in the [40:36] hospital, and Chuck Dedrich was [40:38] arrested. Though due to declining [40:40] health, he never spent any time in jail. [40:43] Cinon disbanded shortly thereafter, [40:45] though remnants of the game still live [40:48] on in online communities and comment [40:51] sections. As for my dad, he must have [40:54] had one heck of a college essay because [40:56] somehow he got into UC Berkeley, [40:58] graduated with a degree in bacteriology, [41:01] then moved on to UCLA where he earned [41:03] his PhD in microbiology. He went on to [41:06] marry a fellow research scientist. Hi, [41:08] Mom. And eventually became a professor. [41:12] [Music] [41:17] So Craig got out, but where does that [41:20] leave the rest of us? We're living in an [41:23] increasingly complex world teeming with [41:26] petty problems, overwhelming choices, [41:29] fractured communities, and a constant [41:32] onslaught of both true and false [41:33] information that our brains simply did [41:35] not develop to handle. So, our cognitive [41:38] biases sometimes tell us to double down [41:41] on cultish choices, to stay with that [41:43] candidate a little longer, to try a [41:46] final month at that culty fitness studio [41:49] to buy one more Stanley Cup. Despite [41:52] enormous evidence that we should [41:54] reconsider, simply put, our once useful [41:58] cognitive shortcuts are clashing with [42:00] the modern world. As for why my dad [42:02] didn't buy into so many of the cultish [42:04] strategies that worked on his peers, [42:07] well, in part, he had his interest in [42:09] science to think for that. This just [42:12] goes to show that even in highly [42:14] oppressive environments, a hint of [42:17] skepticism can point you toward hope. [42:19] But short of running a microbiol, [42:22] what are the rest of us supposed to do [42:24] about this? What can we take away from [42:27] my dad's story as people who are exposed [42:29] to cultish language every day? Well, I [42:33] argue that being manipulated [42:35] isn't always bad. Anything can be taken [42:38] too far. But as a whole, just because [42:41] something is a little cultish doesn't [42:43] mean you have to give it up. Because [42:45] here's the thing, human beings influence [42:48] each other often times in irrational [42:50] ways. It's what we do. We're a social [42:53] and mystical species. And cultish [42:55] language can be a way to mobilize people [42:58] for good. Like one of my best friends [43:00] works at a cancer nonprofit and she's [43:03] recruited me to do some fundraising for [43:04] them. This is an objectively good [43:07] mission that I believe in. But vying for [43:10] research funding is hard and I've [43:12] noticed how the mantras and labels used [43:14] within this nonprofit to keep people [43:16] inspired can be cultish. Someday is [43:19] today. You are the greatest generation [43:22] of warriors and heroes in this quest for [43:25] a cancer cure. Am I being manipulated [43:28] when I hear phrases like that? Totally. [43:31] But when it's safe, respectful, and easy [43:34] to get out of when you've had enough. [43:36] Being a little irrational about the [43:38] things we love together, well, that's a [43:41] core part of being human. We chant at [43:44] sports games, cry shouting the same [43:47] phrases over and over again until we [43:49] really do believe that our team is [43:51] unbeatable. We wear special friendship [43:54] bracelets to concerts and flash funny [43:56] hand signs at each other to show we [43:58] belong to communities we love. Is it all [44:00] a little mystical? Sure. But that's how [44:03] humans are. And admitting that might [44:06] just be the key to making the best of [44:08] our cultish proclivities without letting [44:10] them take over our lives. [44:14] I believe that we can strive to preserve [44:16] the sanctity of facts without giving up [44:19] the fun of ritual or the might of [44:22] cultish language. For example, we can [44:25] use what we know about the illusory [44:27] truth effect to spread real facts. [44:31] Pretty fonts, rhyming slogans, and [44:33] constant repetition aren't just for cult [44:35] leaders. Memory scientist Lisa Fosio [44:37] once told me, "Remember, it's okay to [44:40] repeat true information. People need [44:43] reminders of what's true." Ultimately, [44:45] my goal with my writing is to be more [44:48] compassionate toward others [44:50] irrationalities [44:51] and skeptical of my own in this ever [44:54] complicated and culty age. I think [44:57] that's the best each of us can do. And [45:00] with that, I suppose all I can say is [45:03] stay curious, stay critical. And dare I [45:06] say, amen. [45:09] Thanks for watching this Crash Course [45:10] lecture, which was made with the help of [45:12] all of these nice and only slightly [45:14] culty people. If you want to help keep [45:16] Crash Course free for everyone forever, [45:18] you can join our cult on Patreon. [45:23] [Music]  📄 **Full text:** ![[Full Document Contents/Articles/The Secret Language of Cults Crash Course Lecture.md|The Secret Language of Cults: Crash Course Lecture by CrashCourse]] ## Highlights - What if I told you that there was an incantation that could control people’s minds? A certain combination of words, used in the right order, to bend people to your will? What if there were whole vocabularies of these? Complicated mazes of buzzwords, mantras, euphemisms, clichés, and redefinitions? And these all add up to a kind of spellbook that a select few of history’s greatest influencers secretly possess? From Jesus to Jim Jones to Jeff Bezos. But also, Taylor Swift, Peloton instructors, and even old friends selling essential oils in your DMs. And here is the kicker: You are probably under the spell of these words right now. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kpm56e7ycpej4g43fv4errsz))