--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're creating a whole universe, even…" description: "\"If you're creating a whole universe, even if it's a universe squeezed into a solar system, you have to use a little bit of sleight of hand.\" — Alastair..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/alastair-reynolds-2186_sleight-of-hand_if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even_1929667.jpg" --- # If you're creating a whole universe, even if it's a… ![“If you're creating a whole universe, even if it's a universe squeezed into a solar system, you have to use a little bit of sleight of hand.” quote by Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/alastair-reynolds-2186_sleight-of-hand_if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even_1929667.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/alastair-reynolds-2186_sleight-of-hand_if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even_1929667.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/alastair-reynolds-2186_sleight-of-hand_if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even_1929667.jpg) > “If you're creating a whole universe, even if it's a universe squeezed into a solar system, you have to use a little bit of sleight of hand.” [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating a believable universe often requires subtle tricks to make complex ideas feel simple. **In simple terms:** World‑building needs clever shortcuts. Key Takeaway Use creative simplifications. Themes creativity world‑building storytelling Mood inspired curious Type instructional philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - game design - film production Key Concepts narrative design imagination Questions to Reflect On - What subtle detail makes your world feel real? - How to balance complexity and clarity? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on tricks can break immersion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sleight of hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleight-of-hand/) [Solar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solar/) [Solar system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solar-system/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [I don't have the attention span to practice sleight of hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-sisto/i-don-t-have-the-attention-span-to-practice-sleight-of-hand/) [Jeremy Sisto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-sisto/) > [Never reveal. The effect is entertaining, the sleight of hand is insulting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-reveal-the-effect-is-entertaining-the-sleight-of-hand-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you do sleight of hand without trying to cheat someone, that's what magic is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-anderson/if-you-do-sleight-of-hand-without-trying-to-cheat-someone-that-s-what/) [Harry Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-anderson/) > [If your sleight of hand causes you to break eye contact with your audience, it is too advanced for your skill level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-mcbride/if-your-sleight-of-hand-causes-you-to-break-eye-contact-with-your/) Jeff McBride > [Women are like tricks by sleight of hand, Which, to admire, we should not understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/women-are-like-tricks-by-sleight-of-hand-which-to-admire-we-should/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [“Such is the sleight of hand by which we juggle with ourselves, and change our very weaknesses into stanch and most magnanimous virtues!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/such-is-the-sleight-of-hand-by-which-we-juggle-with-ourselves-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“I hope that I will never let you down. I know that this can be more than just flashing lights and sound. Look around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrice/i-hope-that-i-will-never-let-you-down-i-know-that-this-can-be-more/) Thrice > [“Civilsation is the sleight of hand that conceals our natures from ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/civilsation-is-the-sleight-of-hand-that-conceals-our-natures-from/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Dai Vernon, the greatest sleight of hand figure in the history of the art, rarely performed. But he invented magic and had an enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-jay/dai-vernon-the-greatest-sleight-of-hand-figure-in-the-history-of-the/) [Ricky Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-jay/) > [“She saw now that he was like an illusionist who captivated women with a little sleight of hand and once she had seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-godbersen/she-saw-now-that-he-was-like-an-illusionist-who-captivated-women-with/) [Anna Godbersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-godbersen/) > [I suppose that if I could only do one thing, a solid card effect would be pretty high on the list. That's the root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-jay/i-suppose-that-if-i-could-only-do-one-thing-a-solid-card-effect-would/) [Ricky Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-jay/) > [“There's a trick they do with one pea and three cups which is very hard to follow, and something like it, for greater stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-a-trick-they-do-with-one-pea-and-three-cups-which-is-very/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Winterson has her own unmistakeable voice, tuned to express her obsessional preoccupation with sexual passion raised to the power of revealed religion. (...) The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-glendinning/winterson-has-her-own-unmistakeable-voice-tuned-to-express-her/) [Victoria Glendinning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-glendinning/) > [“In the art of magic be quick of sleight and slow of climax.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/in-the-art-of-magic-be-quick-of-sleight-and-slow-of-climax/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [We are the ones creating the universe day by day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elzapo/we-are-the-ones-creating-the-universe-day-by-day/) Elzapo ## More by Alastair Reynolds > [“We have made some collective mistakes as a species, it’s true – invested too much power in things we can’t see, let alone control.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/we-have-made-some-collective-mistakes-as-a-species-it-s-true-invested/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [“So much for the tolerant acceptance of the other. We’re forging out into deep space – who knows what we’ll meet out there? If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/so-much-for-the-tolerant-acceptance-of-the-other-we-re-forging-out/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [“Believe me, when you're dealing with infectious alien mind parasites, I always find primitive is best." Then, calmly, almost as if it were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/believe-me-when-you-re-dealing-with-infectious-alien-mind-parasites-i/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [“There's a vorg loose," Meroka explained. "In case that escaped your attention. Ricasso's doing his bit for Swarm, trying to kill the thing before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/there-s-a-vorg-loose-meroka-explained-in-case-that-escaped-your/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [“The two men -- Fray and Malkin -- were standing near each other. They were not unarmed. They were quite seriously not unarmed. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/the-two-men-fray-and-malkin-were-standing-near-each-other-they-were/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [I couldn't think of anything more pointless than reading a piece of fiction written by a robot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/i-couldn-t-think-of-anything-more-pointless-than-reading-a-piece-of/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [When I'm working on one book, part of my imagination is thinking ahead to the next one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/when-i-m-working-on-one-book-part-of-my-imagination-is-thinking-ahead/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [There is enough material in the Kuiper Belt to build anything out there. We could gobble up all the little asteroids, filtering out all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/there-is-enough-material-in-the-kuiper-belt-to-build-anything-out/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Victory loses its meaning without the memory of what you've vanquished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/victory-loses-its-meaning-without-the-memory-of-what-you-ve-vanquished/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [“I don't know." That was typical Sajaki; like all the genuinely clever people Sylveste had met he knew better than to feign understanding where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/i-don-t-know-that-was-typical-sajaki-like-all-the-genuinely-clever/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Autocratic governments are masters of self-contradiction. They say one thing, do another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/autocratic-governments-are-masters-of-self-contradiction-they-say-one/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Speaking for myself, I really struggle to pinpoint whether I became a scientist because I like science fiction, or did I gravitate to science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/speaking-for-myself-i-really-struggle-to-pinpoint-whether-i-became-a/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [“It’s not the span of time that counts, but what you do with it. While you humans have been grubbing around the galaxy, looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/it-s-not-the-span-of-time-that-counts-but-what-you-do-with-it-while/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [Dreams of warp drives and hyperspace are just that - dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/dreams-of-warp-drives-and-hyperspace-are-just-that-dreams/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [I had - and continued to have - great fun exploring the Revelation Space universe, but it was always clear to me that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/i-had-and-continued-to-have-great-fun-exploring-the-revelation-space/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) [Explore all 176 Alastair Reynolds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) ## More Sleight of hand quotes > [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mass was like grand opera, a magic show with the most expensive props in town. And faith, a sleight of hand trick, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/mass-was-like-grand-opera-a-magic-show-with-the-most-expensive-props/) [Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/) > [Happiness, you see, its just an illusion of Fate, a heavenly sleight of hand designed to make you believe in fairy tales. But there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/happiness-you-see-its-just-an-illusion-of-fate-a-heavenly-sleight-of/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [“Kaylee, For over a hundred years, magicians have been pulling objects out of hats. Rabbits, flowers... It's become such a famous trick that rabbits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassie-mae/kaylee-for-over-a-hundred-years-magicians-have-been-pulling-objects/) [Cassie Mae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassie-mae/) > [Susan Straight finds LA's secret heart in Between Heaven and Here and with a sleight of hand only the masters have, she creates an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/susan-straight-finds-la-s-secret-heart-in-between-heaven-and-here-and/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Never reveal. The effect is entertaining, the sleight of hand is insulting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-reveal-the-effect-is-entertaining-the-sleight-of-hand-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the art of magic, keeping a secret is the greatest sleight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/in-the-art-of-magic-keeping-a-secret-is-the-greatest-sleight/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [The modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight-of-hand that was ever invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-stamp/the-modern-banking-system-manufactures-money-out-of-nothing-the/) [Josiah Stamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-stamp/) > [All these wars are similar in the way ideology is being used. It's the ideology of so-called humanitarian intervention. We don't want to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/all-these-wars-are-similar-in-the-way-ideology-is-being-used-it-s-the/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [“A magician may step out without a purse, but he should never step out without a pack of playing cards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/a-magician-may-step-out-without-a-purse-but-he-should-never-step-out/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Storytelling draws on the magic of language to created Elsewheres. Writers use a linguistic sleight-of-hand to take an attribute, attach them to new objects,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-tatar/storytelling-draws-on-the-magic-of-language-to-created-elsewheres/) [Maria Tatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-tatar/) > [Falsehood is a critical element in fiction. Part of the thrill of being told a story is the chance of being hoodwinked. . .The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/falsehood-is-a-critical-element-in-fiction-part-of-the-thrill-of/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [If you do sleight of hand without trying to cheat someone, that's what magic is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-anderson/if-you-do-sleight-of-hand-without-trying-to-cheat-someone-that-s-what/) [Harry Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-anderson/) > [The fact is that the camera is literal if anything, which gives it something in common with a thermometer... Often the tension that exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-loengard/the-fact-is-that-the-camera-is-literal-if-anything-which-gives-it/) [John Loengard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-loengard/) > [Each of the essays in this volume ranges widely across technical and philosophical domains. They examine both familiar automatons from throughout history and delight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-brooks/each-of-the-essays-in-this-volume-ranges-widely-across-technical-and/) [Rodney Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-brooks/) [Browse all 71 Sleight of hand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleight-of-hand/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're creating a whole universe, even if it's a universe squeezed into a solar system, you have to use a little bit of sleight of hand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alastair Reynolds" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even-if-it-s-a-universe-squeezed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sleight of hand" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even-if-it-s-a-universe-squeezed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/alastair-reynolds-2186_sleight-of-hand_if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even_1929667.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/alastair-reynolds-2186_sleight-of-hand_if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even_1929667.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/alastair-reynolds-2186_sleight-of-hand_if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even_1929667.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you're creating a whole universe, even if it's a universe squeezed into a solar system, you have to use a…” — Alastair Reynolds", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alastair Reynolds", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you're creating a whole universe,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even-if-it-s-a-universe-squeezed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/if-you-re-creating-a-whole-universe-even-if-it-s-a-universe-squeezed/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```