diff --git a/.github/workflows/bleeding-edge.yaml b/.github/workflows/bleeding-edge.yaml
index 96248d2a5d7..ea8201dd87b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/bleeding-edge.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/bleeding-edge.yaml
@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ jobs:
       # to use the dev version of numpy at build time.
       run: uv pip install --editable .[test] --no-build-isolation
 
-    - run: yt config set --local yt log_level 50  # Disable excessive output
     - name: Run Tests
       run: uv run --no-sync pytest yt -vvv --color=yes
 
diff --git a/doc/source/faq/index.rst b/doc/source/faq/index.rst
index 732bc7f53da..70ef482f31c 100644
--- a/doc/source/faq/index.rst
+++ b/doc/source/faq/index.rst
@@ -402,18 +402,16 @@ environment can use readline, run the following command:
 How can I change yt's log level?
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
-yt's default log level is ``INFO``. However, you may want less voluminous logging,
-especially if you are in an IPython notebook or running a long or parallel script.
-On the other hand, you may want it to output a lot more, since you can't figure out
-exactly what's going wrong, and you want to output some debugging information.
-The default yt log level can be changed using the :ref:`configuration-file`,
-either by setting it in the ``$HOME/.config/yt/yt.toml`` file:
+yt's default log level is ``CRITICAL`` (50), which pratically is equivalent to "disabled".
+You may want to enable logging if you are developing or debugging yt itself.
+This can be done via the command line. For instance, one would enable error-level
+messages as
 
 .. code-block:: bash
 
-   $ yt config set yt log_level 10  # This sets the log level to "DEBUG"
+   $ yt config --local set yt log_level 40
 
-which would produce debug (as well as info, warning, and error) messages, or at runtime:
+Or, at runtime:
 
 .. code-block:: python
 
@@ -425,8 +423,7 @@ This is the same as doing:
 
    yt.set_log_level(40)
 
-which in this case would suppress everything below error messages. For reference,
-the numerical values corresponding to different log levels are:
+For reference, the numerical values corresponding to different log levels are:
 
 .. csv-table::
    :header: Level, Numeric Value
diff --git a/doc/source/reference/configuration.rst b/doc/source/reference/configuration.rst
index 588426f8d98..772a42651ba 100644
--- a/doc/source/reference/configuration.rst
+++ b/doc/source/reference/configuration.rst
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ Here is an example script, where we adjust the logging at startup:
 
 This has the same effect as setting ``log_level = 1`` in the configuration
 file. Note that a log level of 1 means that all log messages are printed to
-stdout.  To disable logging, set the log level to 50.
+stdout.
 
 
 .. _config-options:
diff --git a/tests/ci_install.sh b/tests/ci_install.sh
index ae7b97e83e5..9ab2fbff446 100644
--- a/tests/ci_install.sh
+++ b/tests/ci_install.sh
@@ -20,8 +20,4 @@ fi
 # but the primary intention is to embed this script in CI jobs
 uv sync --extra=test ${sync_args}
 
-# Disable excessive output
-uv run --no-sync yt config set --local yt log_level 50
-cat yt.toml
-
 set +x
diff --git a/yt/config.py b/yt/config.py
index 8ae7364145b..7df95994c67 100644
--- a/yt/config.py
+++ b/yt/config.py
@@ -11,7 +11,9 @@
     "colored_logs": False,
     "suppress_stream_logging": False,
     "stdout_stream_logging": False,
-    "log_level": 20,
+    # 50=CRITICAL practically represents *no logging*
+    # because critical errors are normally reported as show-stopping exceptions
+    "log_level": 50,
     "inline": False,
     "num_threads": -1,
     "store_parameter_files": False,
diff --git a/yt/data_objects/tests/test_ellipsoid.py b/yt/data_objects/tests/test_ellipsoid.py
index 73f9d19a02d..806eaa715ce 100644
--- a/yt/data_objects/tests/test_ellipsoid.py
+++ b/yt/data_objects/tests/test_ellipsoid.py
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
 def setup_module():
     from yt.config import ytcfg
 
-    ytcfg["yt", "log_level"] = 50
     ytcfg["yt", "internals", "within_testing"] = True