Etymology

reality distortion field

Today it means: The persuasive ability of a leader or entrepreneur, especially in misleading or convincing others in order to promote a product or service. Full definition →

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The story

In the idiomatic sense, coined by software developer Bud Tribble at Apple Computer in 1981, to describe company co-founder Steve Jobs' charisma and its effects on the developers working on the Mac project: "Steve has a reality distortion field. […] In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically anything." The term was borrowed from the 1966 Star Trek episode "The Menagerie", in which the humanoid Talosians are able to create lifelike illusions using such fields.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.