--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing that you make in the world exists…" description: "\"Nothing that you make in the world exists in isolation from the social and political and ecological dimensions of it.\" — Trevor Paglen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8de/trevor-paglen-4201_isolation_nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exist_1453978.png" --- # Nothing that you make in the world exists in isolation… ![“Nothing that you make in the world exists in isolation from the social and political and ecological dimensions of it.” quote by Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8de/trevor-paglen-4201_isolation_nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exist_1453978.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8de/trevor-paglen-4201_isolation_nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exist_1453978.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8de/trevor-paglen-4201_isolation_nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exist_1453978.png) > “Nothing that you make in the world exists in isolation from the social and political and ecological dimensions of it.” [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All creations are intertwined with social, political, and ecological contexts; isolation is impossible. **In simple terms:** Works are never isolated. Key Takeaway Consider broader impacts of your work. Themes art environment society Mood analytical concerned Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - design projects - urban planning - media production Key Concepts systems thinking interdependence Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do creators have? - How can we balance autonomy and context? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on context can stifle individual expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Never give children a chance of imagining that anything exists in isolation. Make it plain from the very beginning that all living is relationship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/never-give-children-a-chance-of-imagining-that-anything-exists-in/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I would consider myself simply a critic of the market economy. My standard isn't primarily political. First of all, it's ecological. And then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-would-consider-myself-simply-a-critic-of-the-market-economy-my/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [No practice exists in isolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/no-practice-exists-in-isolation/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Nothing exists in isolation. In fact, all beings and phenomena exist only because of their relationship with other beings or phenomena.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-ourvan/nothing-exists-in-isolation-in-fact-all-beings-and-phenomena-exist/) Jeff Ourvan > [“Nothing exists in isolation; there is a purpose for everything”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/nothing-exists-in-isolation-there-is-a-purpose-for-everything/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“It was too late to retreat - the world exists only because it is always too late to retreat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/it-was-too-late-to-retreat-the-world-exists-only-because-it-is-always/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [Mallarme said that everything in the world exists in order to end in a book. Today everything exists to end in a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/mallarme-said-that-everything-in-the-world-exists-in-order-to-end-in/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Wuxia is a fantasy world exists in everyone's mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-yimou/wuxia-is-a-fantasy-world-exists-in-everyone-s-mind/) [Zhang Yimou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-yimou/) > [“One is using an axe on his own feet. That is why this world exists. Otherwise this world is completely independent, no one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/one-is-using-an-axe-on-his-own-feet-that-is-why-this-world-exists/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [In the world there exists no aesthetic plane, not even the aesthetic plane of goodness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/in-the-world-there-exists-no-aesthetic-plane-not-even-the-aesthetic/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [The world exists to let Man philosophize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/the-world-exists-to-let-man-philosophize/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [“The world only exists in your eyes. You can make it as big or as small as you want it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-world-only-exists-in-your-eyes-you-can-make-it-as-big-or-as-small/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The philosophers of the Middle Ages demonstrated both that the Earth did not exist and also that it was flat. Today they are still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilhjalmur-stefansson/the-philosophers-of-the-middle-ages-demonstrated-both-that-the-earth/) [Vilhjalmur Stefansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilhjalmur-stefansson/) > [“The autistic mind is not the wave at the surface of the ocean, but the whole world that exists below.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krissy-bells/the-autistic-mind-is-not-the-wave-at-the-surface-of-the-ocean-but-the/) Krissy Bells > [Each person carries an entire world within himself, and everything exists twice: once the way it is, the other the way he perceives it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-korczak/each-person-carries-an-entire-world-within-himself-and-everything/) [Janusz Korczak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-korczak/) ## More by Trevor Paglen > [I believe that art can make relevant and progressive contributions to culture and society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-believe-that-art-can-make-relevant-and-progressive-contributions-to/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Photography has become so fundamental to the way we see that 'photography' and 'seeing' are becoming more and more synonymous. The ubiquity of photography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/photography-has-become-so-fundamental-to-the-way-we-see-that/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [I'm pretty cynical about the future, but I feel like that's not an ethical position for me to take. It's not okay for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-m-pretty-cynical-about-the-future-but-i-feel-like-that-s-not-an/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Civilian law around aviation is much looser than those governing military. Civilian planes can basically fly wherever they want in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/civilian-law-around-aviation-is-much-looser-than-those-governing/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [I think the automation of vision is a much bigger deal than the invention of perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/i-think-the-automation-of-vision-is-a-much-bigger-deal-than-the/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Many of the things that shape the way the world looks are, quite frankly, invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/many-of-the-things-that-shape-the-way-the-world-looks-are-quite/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Geosynchronous spacecraft will be among civilization's most enduring remnants, quietly circling Earth until the Earth is no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/geosynchronous-spacecraft-will-be-among-civilization-s-most-enduring/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Traditionally, images have functioned as representations of something in the world, but we are quickly approaching the point where vast majority of images are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/traditionally-images-have-functioned-as-representations-of-something/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Images can make realities out of people and struggles - the reality we give them. Images really matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/images-can-make-realities-out-of-people-and-struggles-the-reality-we/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [It's productive and fun to try interpreting cave paintings, but ultimately, they can't teach us anything beyond what we imagine them to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/it-s-productive-and-fun-to-try-interpreting-cave-paintings-but/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Anything humans can do in space, robots can do better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/anything-humans-can-do-in-space-robots-can-do-better/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Before Christianity became the Roman Empire's official religion in the 4th Century, 'mystery religions,' organized around a central canon of secret knowledge, were widespread.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/before-christianity-became-the-roman-empire-s-official-religion-in/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [When we look up into the starry night sky, we tend to see reflections of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/when-we-look-up-into-the-starry-night-sky-we-tend-to-see-reflections/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [“The CIA, an agency designed to operate outside the law, was now free to pursue its vision of a new world, to create new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/the-cia-an-agency-designed-to-operate-outside-the-law-was-now-free-to/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) > [Once, I got lost in the middle of the desert and had to follow the North Star to find the dirt road where my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/once-i-got-lost-in-the-middle-of-the-desert-and-had-to-follow-the/) [Trevor Paglen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) [Explore all 114 Trevor Paglen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/) ## More Isolation quotes > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/) [Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/) > [Isolation makes me lonesome, but when I'm lonely in a crowd, I feel desolate and forlorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/isolation-makes-me-lonesome-but-when-i-m-lonely-in-a-crowd-i-feel/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [I am very convinced that I did not contract Ebola in the isolation unit, because our process is so safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-brantly/i-am-very-convinced-that-i-did-not-contract-ebola-in-the-isolation/) [Kent Brantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-brantly/) > [Something in our nature cries out to be loved by another. Isolation is devastating to the human psyche. That is why solitary confinement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/something-in-our-nature-cries-out-to-be-loved-by-another-isolation-is/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [“Two people who live their lives alone in rooms doing strange, gentle things can sometimes be together in the middle of a dangerous storm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-hunt/two-people-who-live-their-lives-alone-in-rooms-doing-strange-gentle/) [Samantha Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-hunt/) > [“In good company your thoughts run, in solitude your thought is still; it goes deeper and makes for itself a deeper groove, delves. Delve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-godden/in-good-company-your-thoughts-run-in-solitude-your-thought-is-still/) [Rumer Godden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-godden/) > ['Mulk' is a film that needed to be made. We can no longer sweep the isolation of the Indian Muslim under the carpet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anubhav-sinha/mulk-is-a-film-that-needed-to-be-made-we-can-no-longer-sweep-the/) [Anubhav Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anubhav-sinha/) > [Helping reproductive services doesn't just help women in isolation. It helps men just as much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/helping-reproductive-services-doesn-t-just-help-women-in-isolation-it/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [“This is one of the harshest after effects of the pandemic that I am witnessing some and experiencing some, a diminished ability to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/this-is-one-of-the-harshest-after-effects-of-the-pandemic-that-i-am/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [“This was the difference, she thought, between solitude and isolation. And now she knew something about herself she hadn’t known before. It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/this-was-the-difference-she-thought-between-solitude-and-isolation/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) > [Oh, the solitariness of sin! There is nothing like it, except, perhaps, the solitariness of death. In that isolation none can reach you, none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-reginald-haweis/oh-the-solitariness-of-sin-there-is-nothing-like-it-except-perhaps/) [Hugh Reginald Haweis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-reginald-haweis/) > [So many writers grew up in tortured isolation, in revolt against their families. I and my sister were in a house where writing was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/so-many-writers-grew-up-in-tortured-isolation-in-revolt-against-their/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Browse all 1,128 Isolation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing that you make in the world exists in isolation from the social and political and ecological dimensions of it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Trevor Paglen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exists-in-isolation-from-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Isolation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exists-in-isolation-from-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8de/trevor-paglen-4201_isolation_nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exist_1453978.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8de/trevor-paglen-4201_isolation_nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exist_1453978.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8de/trevor-paglen-4201_isolation_nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exist_1453978.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing that you make in the world exists in isolation from the social and political and ecological…” — Trevor Paglen", "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": "Trevor Paglen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-paglen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Nothing that you make in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exists-in-isolation-from-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-paglen/nothing-that-you-make-in-the-world-exists-in-isolation-from-the/#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 } } ] } ```