One of the memes from the Marvel character Thanos is when he finds the reality stone. He says, “Now reality can be whatever I want.”
While no one actually has the power to change reality, many become masters at manipulating the reality of others with a tactic known as gaslighting.
The term “gaslighting” has recently become mainstream, but ask someone to define it, and many will be left floundering. It comes from the 1944 movie, Gaslight. The plot follows a husband who slowly convinces his wife that she is descending into madness.
So the phrase follows that to gaslight someone is to manipulate them into believing something is real when in fact, it is not. This could range from an exaggeration of the truth to a complete falsehood.
It’s even possible to gaslight yourself. Think about the question, “how tall are you?” Do you answer according to reality or your perception?
Reading the biography of Steve Jobs, many refer to his “reality distortion field” in a similar fashion. His charisma, passion, and inspirational brilliance would combine to bend reality at his will. This enabled Apple to accomplish incredible, seemingly impossible things. Even Bill Gates acknowledged the wizardry of Jobs but claimed to be immune to such spells.
In its most benign form, gaslighting may include telling a scared child, “it’s going to be okay” in a hopeless situation. But more often, it occurs when someone in power needs to retain their influence, exude success, or appear infallible.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Unholy Trinity to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.