reality distortion field

In the idiomatic sense, coined by software developer Bud Tribble at Apple Computer in 1981, to describe company co-founder Steve Jobs' charisma and its effects on the developers working on the Mac project: "Steve has a reality distortion field. […] In his presence, reality is malleable. He can convince anyone of practically anything." The term was borrowed from the 1966 Star Trek episode "The Menagerie", in which the humanoid Talosians are able to create lifelike illusions using such fields.

• "I fell silent under her stony glare. I tried to keep going, but I couldn't. Blight had the opposite of a reality distortion field. A reality assertion field."
• "Small lies are essential. They create your reality distortion field. They are a necessary part of being an entrepreneur. But if you start believing your own hype, you won't survive."
• "Mr. Jobs used his famous reality distortion field to bend the news media and investors and everyone else to his will."
• "By propagating a "reality distortion field"—that is, mesmerizing potential employees, investors, and strategic partners so they focus on a startup's world-changing potential rather than on its real-world risks—overconfident and charismatic founders in particular are able to persuade people to commit resources under terms favorable to their new venture."