Condensus

Condensus is a term used in discussions of consensus dynamics to denote a state or process in which opinions within a group become densely interrelated and highly coherent, often reaching high levels of agreement with minimal explicit dissent. It captures both the strength of agreement and the tightness of justification networks.

The term appears as a neologism in contemporary discourse, drawing from Latin condensus meaning dense or tightly packed and combining con- (together) with dense. It is not widely standardized and may have different interpretations in different fields.

Condensus arises in networks with high connectivity, repeated exchange, and norms of mutual justification and acceptance. Under strong deliberative norms, participants increasingly align as common evidential anchors accumulate; dissent is discouraged by social incentives or cognitive biases such as the false-consensus effect.

It can be soft, where consensus is broad but not absolute, or hard, where dissent is marginalized. It often coexists with information cascades and echo chambers, but can also emerge from rigorous argumentation if norms ensure robust evidence.

Critics warn that condensus can obscure disagreement, suppress minority positions, and lead to brittle outcomes if new evidence destabilizes the cluster. It is a dynamic concept sensitive to network structure and information flows.

In agent-based models, condensus emerges when agents share compatible priors and have ample interactions; in real communities, it may be observed in tightly knit research collaborations or ideological networks.

See also: consensus, groupthink, social epistemology, network theory.