Reality distortion fields exist at every level

Steve Jobs was famously said to have reality distortion field. He was so charismatic and persuasive that he would push people to hit impossible deadlines and produce work of a quality beyond what they thought was possible. Elon Musk has been described as having similar powers. Matt Levine illustrates this with the Elon Market Hypothesis which says that

“the way finance works now is that things are valuable not based on their cash flows but on their proximity to Elon Musk.”

Jobs and Musk are such outliers of success that it’s easy to believe that only people like them can warp reality. However, I think reality distortion fields exist at every level of society.

For example, I’m currently at an AI research conference. There are some incredibly accomplished researchers here, many of whom will convince you that their method will be the one to “solve” artificial intelligence. Some of them are so charismatic they’ll cleverly skirt around presenting any solutions (or even clearly stating a problem), and you’ll still walk away thinking the impossible is possible. Whether this is good or bad is not the point of this post. What I’m trying to show is that even researchers, whose influence is limited to a narrow subset of society, can project reality distortion fields.

In fact, this same dynamic is present at an even smaller scale. Compared to other people, we are often much more reactive to the faults of family members. As Ram Dass once said “If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” They too have a reality distortion field. It’s a lot smaller, perhaps extending only to other family members, or even just you, the reader. But it’s still there.

But wait, there’s more!

Think about romantic relationships. When done right, a relationship can be a thoroughly mind-bending experience. Here are some fun examples I found on X showing this from the perspective of a guy

a flâneur@aflaneurnyc

The best performance enhancement drug is devotion to a beautiful woman

11:54 AM · Aug 12, 2026 · 898K Views

83 Replies · 5.25K Reposts · 40.2K Likes

It’s true! If you’ve ever been in love with a woman who inspires you (and loves you too), you know it feels like a superpower. Your situation may be otherwise unchanged, and yet somehow love makes your horizons infinitely wider.

Obviously, the opposite applies too: a relationship can greatly distort the reality of its members in extremely negative ways. See, for example the recent movie Obsession. People will do extreme things under the reality distortion field of love and lust.

So the point is that reality distortion fields exist at every level. From parasocial relationships with billionaires, to your relationship with your mom, to a romantic relationship.

It’s even happening right now. Between you, the reader, and me.

You are reading my tinfoil hat interpretation of the world and, if I’m doing my job right, I’m shifting the way you see the world. The words I’ve carefully arranged on your screen are changing the way you see reality. In real time.

This reminds me of Joan Didion:

So what do we do about all this? Well, simply being aware of this phenomenon can be very useful. Most people don’t even know reality distortion fields are a thing and get pulled into (suboptimal) ways of seeing the world without even realizing it. They offload much of their thinking to someone (or something) else.

Distortion fields are not necessarily bad. For example, Steve Jobs’ field was famous precisely because he was able to push people to do their best work. A good relationship may have a similar effect in your life. If you want to see great examples of useful distortion fields, see Cate Hall’s blog “Useful Fictions.” The important thing is to be aware and have some say in what fictions you choose to believe in. And to never forget your freedom of thought.

“People hardly ever make use of the freedom which they have, for example, freedom of thought; instead they demand freedom of speech as compensation.” - Søren Kierkegaard

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