--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The creation of a virtual image is a form…" description: "\"The creation of a virtual image is a form of accident. This explains why virtual reality is a cosmic accident. It's the accident of the real.\" — Paul V..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/paul-virilio-2130_accidents_the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-for_1470960.png" --- # The creation of a virtual image is a form of accident… ![“The creation of a virtual image is a form of accident. This explains why virtual reality is a cosmic accident. It's the accident of the real.” quote by Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/paul-virilio-2130_accidents_the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-for_1470960.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/paul-virilio-2130_accidents_the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-for_1470960.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/paul-virilio-2130_accidents_the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-for_1470960.png) > “The creation of a virtual image is a form of accident. This explains why virtual reality is a cosmic accident. It's the accident of the real.” [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Virtual reality is framed as an unintended by‑product of technology, a “cosmic accident” that mirrors real‑world mishaps. **In simple terms:** VR is an accidental extension of reality. Key Takeaway Question technology’s unintended impacts. Themes technology philosophy reality Mood reflective critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - gaming - simulation training - urban planning Key Concepts accident theory media studies Questions to Reflect On - How does VR change our sense of what is real? - What responsibilities do creators have? A Different Perspective Virtual experiences can distort perception of reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Virtual reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtual-reality/) ## Related quotes > [There was a very consistent creation of a virtual reality, and eventually it collided with our old-fashioned, ordinary reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/there-was-a-very-consistent-creation-of-a-virtual-reality-and/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [“Web. The first version of VRML allows for the creation of virtual worlds with limited”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/web-the-first-version-of-vrml-allows-for-the-creation-of-virtual/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Good thoughts can become reality with Cosmic Ordering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/good-thoughts-can-become-reality-with-cosmic-ordering/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [“Girlfriend is the virtual image of your character…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/being-special/girlfriend-is-the-virtual-image-of-your-character/) Being Special > [Today's children are taught by our culture that we are a cosmic accident. Something slithered out of the primal slime and over billions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/today-s-children-are-taught-by-our-culture-that-we-are-a-cosmic/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) > [The information age has made Thiel rich, but it has also been a disappointment to him. It hasn't created enough jobs, and it hasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-information-age-has-made-thiel-rich-but-it-has-also-been-a/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“I am a cosmic accident, and soon I will be dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-am-a-cosmic-accident-and-soon-i-will-be-dead/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [For war is never some cosmic accident descending upon a people with all the chance and inevitability of asteroids falling like fire out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-zindell/for-war-is-never-some-cosmic-accident-descending-upon-a-people-with/) [David Zindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-zindell/) > [Cyberspace is an accident of the real. Virtual reality is the accident of reality itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/cyberspace-is-an-accident-of-the-real-virtual-reality-is-the-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [These new technologies try to make virtual reality more powerful than actual reality, which is the true accident. The day when virtual reality becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/these-new-technologies-try-to-make-virtual-reality-more-powerful-than/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The simulator is an object in itself, which is different from televison and leads to cyberspace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-simulator-is-an-object-in-itself-which-is-different-from/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The simulator is the stage in-between television and virtual reality, a moment, a phase. The simulator is a moment that leads to cyberspace, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-simulator-is-the-stage-in-between-television-and-virtual-reality/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The technologies of virtual reality are attempting to make us see from beneath, from inside, from behind... as if we were God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-technologies-of-virtual-reality-are-attempting-to-make-us-see/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [I don't believe in simulationism, I believe that the word is already old-fashioned. As I see it, new technologies are substituting a virtual reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/i-don-t-believe-in-simulationism-i-believe-that-the-word-is-already/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [One day the virtual world might win over the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/one-day-the-virtual-world-might-win-over-the-real-world/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) ## More by Paul Virilio > [“It is, in fact, impossible clearly to distinguish economic war from information war, since each involves the same hegemonic ambition of making commercial and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/it-is-in-fact-impossible-clearly-to-distinguish-economic-war-from/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [There cannot be an animal body without a territorial body: three bodies are grafted over each other: the territorial body - the planet, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-cannot-be-an-animal-body-without-a-territorial-body-three/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [... the blinding Hiroshima flash... literally photographed the shadow cast by beings and things, so that every surface immediately became war's recording surface, its film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-blinding-hiroshima-flash-literally-photographed-the-shadow-cast/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [GPS not only played a large and delocalizing role in the war in Kosovo but is increasingly playing a role in social life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/gps-not-only-played-a-large-and-delocalizing-role-in-the-war-in/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The Gulf War may not have occurred in the actual global space, but it did occur in global time. And this thanks to CNN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-gulf-war-may-not-have-occurred-in-the-actual-global-space-but-it/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The cinema was certainly an art, but television can't be, because it is the museum of accidents. In other words, its art is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-cinema-was-certainly-an-art-but-television-can-t-be-because-it-is/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [What happened in Kosovo was the exact reversal of what happened in 'Fortress Europe' in 1943-45. Let me explain. Air Marshall 'Bomber' Harris used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/what-happened-in-kosovo-was-the-exact-reversal-of-what-happened-in/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The technologies of virtual reality are attempting to make us see from beneath, from inside, from behind... as if we were God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-technologies-of-virtual-reality-are-attempting-to-make-us-see/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [There are eyes everywhere. No blind spot left. What shall we dream of when everything becomes visible? We'll dream of being blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-are-eyes-everywhere-no-blind-spot-left-what-shall-we-dream-of/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [I am of course thinking here about new planes such as the Sukhois. There is very little discussion about such developments but, for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/i-am-of-course-thinking-here-about-new-planes-such-as-the-sukhois/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [Moreover, I would like to say that the sort of polar inertia we witnessed in the Kosovo War, the polar inertia involving 'automated war'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/moreover-i-would-like-to-say-that-the-sort-of-polar-inertia-we/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [How can we live if there is no more here and everything is now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/how-can-we-live-if-there-is-no-more-here-and-everything-is-now/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [The simulator is the stage in-between television and virtual reality, a moment, a phase. The simulator is a moment that leads to cyberspace, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-simulator-is-the-stage-in-between-television-and-virtual-reality/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [These new technologies try to make virtual reality more powerful than actual reality, which is the true accident. The day when virtual reality becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/these-new-technologies-try-to-make-virtual-reality-more-powerful-than/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) [Explore all 181 Paul Virilio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/no-i-think-most-astronauts-recognize-that-the-space-shuttle-program/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Dont stand outside in a lightning shower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padraig/dont-stand-outside-in-a-lightning-shower/) [Padraig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padraig/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) [Browse all 1,971 Accidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The creation of a virtual image is a form of accident. This explains why virtual reality is a cosmic accident. It's the accident of the real.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Virilio" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-form-of-accident-this-explains/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accidents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-form-of-accident-this-explains/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/paul-virilio-2130_accidents_the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-for_1470960.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/paul-virilio-2130_accidents_the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-for_1470960.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/689/paul-virilio-2130_accidents_the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-for_1470960.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The creation of a virtual image is a form of accident. This explains why virtual reality is a cosmic…” — Paul Virilio", "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": "Paul Virilio", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The creation of a virtual image...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-form-of-accident-this-explains/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/the-creation-of-a-virtual-image-is-a-form-of-accident-this-explains/#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 } } ] } ```