--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: veteran colleagues at Apple used to call…" description: "\"“veteran colleagues at Apple used to call his “reality distortion field.” Sometimes it was the inadvertent misfiring of memory”\" — Walter Isaacson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/walter-isaacson-384_memory_veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call_1599886.png" --- # veteran colleagues at Apple used to call his “reality… ![“veteran colleagues at Apple used to call his “reality distortion field.” Sometimes it was the inadvertent misfiring of memory” quote by Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/walter-isaacson-384_memory_veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call_1599886.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/walter-isaacson-384_memory_veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call_1599886.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/walter-isaacson-384_memory_veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call_1599886.png) > ““veteran colleagues at Apple used to call his “reality distortion field.” Sometimes it was the inadvertent misfiring of memory”” [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often describe charismatic leaders as shaping reality through confidence, but sometimes memory lapses cause unintended distortions. **In simple terms:** Charismatic leaders can unintentionally misrepresent facts. Key Takeaway Watch for bias in persuasive narratives. Themes leadership perception memory communication Mood critical analytical Type observational cautionary When to use this quote - business meetings - public speaking - team brainstorming Key Concepts cognitive bias social influence narrative framing Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify claims from persuasive speakers? - What safeguards can prevent memory errors? A Different Perspective Charisma can mask factual inaccuracies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colleagues Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleagues-apple-6081557/) [Distortion Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distortion-field-6081556/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Misfiring Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfiring-memory-6081555/) [Reality Distortion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-distortion-1383273/) [Used Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used-reality-1075823/) ## Related quotes > [The reality distortion field was a confounding mélange of a charismatic rhetorical style, indomitable will, and eagerness to bend any fact to fit the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-reality-distortion-field-was-a-confounding-m-lange-of-a/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [Steve has a reality distortion field.” When Hertzfeld looked puzzled, Tribble elaborated. “In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/steve-has-a-reality-distortion-field-when-hertzfeld-looked-puzzled/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Jobs’s obstinacy lasted for nine months after his October 2003 diagnosis. Part of it was the product of the dark side of his reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-s-obstinacy-lasted-for-nine-months-after-his-october-2003/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [People have become so literal because they're used to reality-based television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-taymor/people-have-become-so-literal-because-they-re-used-to-reality-based/) [Julie Taymor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-taymor/) > [We're getting used to reality and fantasy passing into each other. Much of the border between them has been erased.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/we-re-getting-used-to-reality-and-fantasy-passing-into-each-other/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I can't have. My wife actually thinks I have a syndrome called Reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-when-i-want-things-i-can-t-have-2/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The core tenant of what I teach is there are no facts inside the building. When we come up with a new idea, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-blank/the-core-tenant-of-what-i-teach-is-there-are-no-facts-inside-the/) [Steve Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-blank/) > [“Steve Jobs was famous for what observers called his “reality distortion field.” Part motivational tactic, part sheer drive and ambition, this field made him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/steve-jobs-was-famous-for-what-observers-called-his-reality/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [“What causes all the hatred? At some level, it’s always the same thing: human beings operating under the influence of human brains whose design…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wright/what-causes-all-the-hatred-at-some-level-it-s-always-the-same-thing/) [Robert Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wright/) > [As Hoffman later lamented, “The reality distortion field can serve as a spur, but then reality itself hits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-hoffman/as-hoffman-later-lamented-the-reality-distortion-field-can-serve-as-a/) [Joanna Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-hoffman/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) ## More by Walter Isaacson > [“he never finished any of the works he began because, so sublime was his idea of art, he saw faults even in the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-never-finished-any-of-the-works-he-began-because-so-sublime-was/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [He had the attitude that he could do anything, and therefore so can you. He put his life in my hands. So that made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/he-had-the-attitude-that-he-could-do-anything-and-therefore-so-can/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [But the point is to get a whole new generation of people and people in general more re-engaged in news, and this has happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/but-the-point-is-to-get-a-whole-new-generation-of-people-and-people/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“There was never a good knife made of bad steel ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-never-a-good-knife-made-of-bad-steel/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Jobs's intensity was also evident in his ability to focus. He would set priorities, aim his laser attention on them, and filter out distractions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/jobs-s-intensity-was-also-evident-in-his-ability-to-focus-he-would/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Atop the brochure McKenna put a maxim, often attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, that would become the defining precept of Jobs’s design philosophy: “Simplicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/atop-the-brochure-mckenna-put-a-maxim-often-attributed-to-leonardo-da/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The company began attracting influential new investors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-company-began-attracting-influential-new-investors/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“You have to remain critically vigilant.” Question every premise, challenge conventional wisdom, and never accept the truth of something merely because everyone else views…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/you-have-to-remain-critically-vigilant-question-every-premise/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“in 1996, bought NeXT, bringing Jobs back. BILL ATKINSON. Early Apple employee, developed graphics for the Macintosh. CHRISANN BRENNAN. Jobs’s girlfriend at Homestead High,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/in-1996-bought-next-bringing-jobs-back-bill-atkinson-early-apple/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“The last time there was this much excitement about a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-last-time-there-was-this-much-excitement-about-a-tablet-it-had/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/if-you-want-to-live-your-life-in-a-creative-way-as-an-artist-you-have/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“There was a key lesson for innovation: Understand which industries are symbiotic so that you can capitalize on how they will spur each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/there-was-a-key-lesson-for-innovation-understand-which-industries-are/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“CEO Gil Amelio stumbled. Ellison may have been baffled when Jobs insisted that he was not motivated by money, but it was partly true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/ceo-gil-amelio-stumbled-ellison-may-have-been-baffled-when-jobs/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“Once a year Jobs took his most valuable employees on a retreat, which he called " The Top 100." They were picked based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/once-a-year-jobs-took-his-most-valuable-employees-on-a-retreat-which/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“An object will display the greatest difference of light and shade when it is seen in the strongest light. . . . But this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/an-object-will-display-the-greatest-difference-of-light-and-shade/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) [Explore all 593 Walter Isaacson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) ## More Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) [Trunxbeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trunxbeats/) [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“veteran colleagues at Apple used to call his “reality distortion field.” Sometimes it was the inadvertent misfiring of memory”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Walter Isaacson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call-his-reality-distortion-field/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Memory" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call-his-reality-distortion-field/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/walter-isaacson-384_memory_veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call_1599886.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/walter-isaacson-384_memory_veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call_1599886.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50a/walter-isaacson-384_memory_veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call_1599886.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“veteran colleagues at Apple used to call his “reality distortion field.” Sometimes it was the inadvertent…” — Walter Isaacson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Walter Isaacson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“veteran colleagues at Apple used to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call-his-reality-distortion-field/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/veteran-colleagues-at-apple-used-to-call-his-reality-distortion-field/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```