Dog Not Barking

Reality-Filter Heuristic

Short Definition

Adams' shorthand for treating silence or omission as evidence: when expected pushback, fact-checking, outrage, or clarification is missing, the absence can reveal what is true.

Expanded Description

The phrase comes from Sherlock Holmes' "the dog that didn't bark" logic in Silver Blaze: an expected reaction fails to happen, and that non-event becomes the key clue. Adams uses this as a practical filter for politics, media narratives, institutional behavior, and hoax detection.

In his framing, what should have happened but did not happen can be more diagnostic than headline claims. If a claim is weak yet faces no normal scrutiny, he treats the silence as a signal of incentives, coordination, or hidden constraints.

Representative Quotes

"The 'dog not barking' method of understanding reality is highly effective."
"Dog not barking = Press didn't do a fact check... That's how you know it was never real."
"The dog not barking is that not one Democrat even pushes back on my point."
"The Dog Not Barking is that guaranteeing fair elections might be easy with current technology."
"Dog not barking: The press will not ask anyone who voted against it why they voted that way."
"Dog not barking... why haven't we heard from the people who created the photos?"

Relevant X Posts

2023-09-09: Biden/Shokin and Charlottesville examples: x.com/ScottAdamsSays/status/1700488995690758283
2020-12-18: "not one Democrat pushes back" example: x.com/ScottAdamsSays/status/1339958737034055680
2021-01-08: election-tech avoidance example: x.com/ScottAdamsSays/status/1347550569175773184
2022-11-28: Balenciaga creator-silence example: x.com/ScottAdamsSays/status/1597261738948327424
For ongoing usage: @ScottAdamsSays on X

Related Concepts

Source Note

This entry synthesizes recurring usage in Adams' streams and social commentary where missing reactions are treated as primary evidence.