Anti-signal

An inversion of "signal" from signaling theory, which VCs and engineers have long used for evidence of quality ("high signal," "signal versus noise"). Flipping it, so that a conventionally impressive credential reads as evidence against you, hardened into named SF discourse in the mid-2020s; no individual coiner is identified, which is very high signal for the coiner.

The New York Times canonized the pairing in a June 2026 piece, "Is Your Vibe High-Signal or Anti-Signal?", describing the terms as ubiquitous on tech social media and quoting Sam Altman's line that going to dinners hosted by venture capitalists "tends to be a big anti-signal."

The discourse layer is fully recursive: publicly explaining what is and is not anti-signal is itself considered anti-signal, as is, arguably, maintaining an encyclopedia of it. The concept underwrites half this catalog: LARPing is anti-signal detected, taste is the moat is anti-signal avoided, and grindslop is anti-signal posted daily at 5 a.m.