Those who tell you that man is unable to perceive a reality undistorted by his senses, mean that they are unwilling to perceive a reality undistorted by their feelings. "Things as they are" are things as perceived by your mind; divorce them from reason and they become "things as perceived by your wishes.
For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand (50th Anniversary Edition) (ed. Penguin, 1963) - ISBN: 9781101137680