Reality distortion fields
Jan 15, 2025
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5
min read
TL;DR
A well‑aimed reality‑distortion field (RDF) is just storytelling with purpose: bend perception for long enough to buy time or belief, then snap back to facts before the rubber band breaks. Stretch it too far, or leave it stretched, and you’ll lose trust—plus a bit of your own credibility on the rebound.
Storytelling vs. lying
Intellectual honesty is a super‑power, yet humans have swapped exaggerated tales since we could grunt around a fire. The trick is knowing where inspiration ends and fabrication begins. A good RDF nudges people toward a future you genuinely intend to build. A bad one papers over cracks you never plan to fix.
Why RDFs exist
Customers buy tomorrow’s promise, not today’s roadmap slide.
Investors back the size of the dream as much as the calibre of the team.
Recruits join for the mission, not the Jira board.
In all three cases you describe what will be as though it already is, because belief accelerates reality.
The rubber band rule
Imagine the truth and the story held tight by a length of elastic. Stretch it—people lean forward, energy builds. Hold the tension too long, or pull beyond the elastic’s limit, and it snaps. When it does, the recoil stings everyone holding the other end.
Two mis‑uses I regret
Living inside someone else’s field. I once stayed too long at a company fuelled by permanent optimism. Targets slipped, metrics wobbled, yet the internal narrative insisted everything was “on track”. By the time the elastic broke, morale had gone with it.
Running my own field too long. I’ve also been the raconteur, selling the beautifully engineered future to recruits while the present was still duct‑tape. The story did its job—great hires came aboard—but I dragged my feet on closing the gap. Their first ninety days were disillusion in slow motion.
How I use the tool now
Set an expiry date for every claim. If we say “feature X will ship by quarter‑end”, we ship or we eat humble pie publicly.
Publish reality checkpoints. Weekly metrics visible to all, so the elastic tension is measurable.
Own the gap. Start every update with “Here’s what we promised, here’s where we actually are.”
Invite dissent. Intellectual honesty thrives on challenge; if nobody pokes holes, assume the field has gone opaque.
Final thought
A reality distortion field is like levelling up gravity for a short hop over a chasm. Use it wisely, land quickly, and reset your footing. Leave it humming and sooner or later the floor gives way.
Estimated read: 4 minutes
Category: IFUHWIL
Date:
Ever been caught in someone else’s field—or guilty of running one too long? Tell me, I’m collecting cautionary tales.
