Who said “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can…”?

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Philip K. Dick. A published source records them saying or writing it.

Source"How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" (1978)

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“The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.”
— Philip K. Dick
Verified"How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" (1978) · evidenceWords
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Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: "How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later" (1978).

APA

Dick, P. K. (n.d.). The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/37543-the-basic-tool-for-the-manipulation-of-reality/

MLA

Dick, Philip K. “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/37543-the-basic-tool-for-the-manipulation-of-reality/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Dick, Philip K. “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/37543-the-basic-tool-for-the-manipulation-of-reality/.

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“A wise man hears one word and understands two.”
— Yiddish Proverb
Original (Yiddish)

אַ קלוגער פֿאַרשטײט פֿון אײן װאָרט צװײ

A kluger farshteyt fun eyn vort tsvey.

VerifiedRecorded in Nahum Stutchkoff, דער אוצר פֿון דער ייִדישער שפּראַך (1950), p. 304 · evidenceDetails & citeWords
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More quotes by Philip K. Dick

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”
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“Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything. We can't talk about science, because our knowledge of it is limited and unofficial, and usually our fiction is dreadful.”
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“The trouble with being educated is that it takes a long time; it uses up the better part of your life and when you are finished what you know is that you would have benefited more by going into banking.”
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“Reality is whatever refuses to go away when I stop believing in it.”
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“Drug misuse is not a disease, it is a decision, like the decision to step out in front of a moving car. You would call that not a disease but an error of judgment.”
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All 6 Philip K. Dick quotes →