Coined in 1981 by current Apple VP, Guy "Bud" Tribble, the term was used to describe Steve Jobs' uncanny ability to convince nearly anyone of practically anything. According to folklore.com, Tribble once commented to his fellow engineer: "Well, it's Steve. Steve insists that we're shipping in early 1982, and won't accept answers to the contrary. The best way to describe the situation is a term from Star Trek. Steve has a reality distortion field."

According to Tribbel, reality to Jobs is malleable because he can convince anyone of practically anything. But it wears off when he's not around.

"Just because Jobs tells you that something is awful or great, it doesn't necessarily mean he'll feel that way tomorrow. You have to low-pass filter his input. And then, he's really funny about ideas. If you tell him a new idea, he'll usually tell you that he thinks it's stupid. But then, if he actually likes it, exactly one week later, he'll come back to you and propose your idea to you, as if he thought of it." ~Bud Tribble.