If life was a video game… wait, what if it is? Below, we have some very intense evidence that points to the fact that our reality is full of weird, unexplainable glitches.
Quite like Blade Runner, GTA V, and even The Sims, what if Elon Musk was right and it’s one hell of a simulation? Well, let’s not just jump to conclusions before scrolling through this entertaining compilation of photos with things that look like rendering errors. Think of blurs, pixels, stuff being out of focus, you name it.
Upvote your favorite pics and be sure to check out our previous post with real-life photos that look like screenshots of a video game or a movie set.
#1 The Apple's Skin I Cut Looks Like From A Low-Poly Game
Image credits: universe-atom
#2 When The Trees Don't Render
Image credits: beef_in_the_dark
It seems like the internet’s fascination with real-life bad renderings captured on camera is anything but new. Similar cases can be found at “The place for puzzling perspectives, confusing angles, and missing context,” aka the r/confusing_perspective Reddit page, which is home to 1.3M members. Make sure to check out our previous post with the compilation from the subreddit right here.
#3 Floating Truck Canopy
Image credits: superslomotion
#4 My Buddy's Cup Before Our Final Exam Looked Quite Weird On The Table
Image credits: spoonwitz97
#5 I Think There's A Glitch In The Matrix
Image credits: LadyTogruta
Similarly, there’s a whole website, ‘RealTime Rendering,’ that shares a bunch of 'Real Artifacts' spotted outside CGI. Here, the creators provide an illuminating explanation of the internet’s beloved phenomena: “Rendering is hard, partly because the real world doesn't look as good as we think it does. We find real phenomena that resemble computer graphics artifacts amusing. Here are some real photographs that look like rendered images, sometimes because the photographer was trying to make it look synthetic, and sometimes because life can imitate the 'art' of computer graphics.”
#6 Not A Glitch In The Photo, Jama Masjid, Ahmedabad
Image credits: jatadharius
#7 Sky.exe Failed To Load Some Pixels
Image credits: US Air Force
#8 This Picture Of A Car Bumper Taken After A Car Crash Looks Like It Belongs To A Car Coming From Another Dimension
Image credits: Vatramint
Also known as visual examples of “IRL glitch in the matrix,” the interest in such visually confusing photos has to do with another greater trend. Those who believe in the theory of simulation, Elon Musk included, find such pictures not just entertaining, but illustrative of the fact that no reality is objective and perfect. Ours included.
#9 Eastern Redbud Looks Out Of Focus
Image credits: gigsa0
#10 Drive Past This Building Every Morning, Finally Enough Traffic Today To Safely Take A Picture
Image credits: Luke_7
#11 This Mosque In Istanbul Looks Like It Was Rendered On The Lowest Settings Possible
Image credits: aI03owolkY
And while for some, this is purely a subject of debate to elaborate on with friends over a bar counter, some truly believe that our universe is a simulation run by a higher-order technological civilization. So in order to find what exactly that means and how it changes our perspective of reality, we reached out to Gunnar De Winter, the science communication specialist at the Flanders Institute of Biotechnology.
#12 This Building Looks Like It Had A Rendering Error
Image credits: zcrc
#13 This Tree I Saw Today Looks Like It Didn’t Render Correctly
Image credits: WizerdBoy
#14 The Furniture In This Room Made The Photo I Took Look Like A Render
Image credits: 1st_page_of_google
“Basically, the simulation hypothesis is the idea that our lives, our universe is a simulation run by some higher-order technological civilization,” Gunnar said and continued: “This rests on the assumption that at some point a civilization will have the computational resources to run such a civilization.”
“If they then run several of such simulations, we could additionally assume that, if we are a random sample, we're more likely to be one of the simulations rather than one of the rare 'real' civilizations,” he explained.
#15 When The Sun Is Directly Overhead In Hawaii, It Looks Like A Bad Video Game Render
Image credits: staryu
#16 Entrance Of An Underwater Observatory In Lake Zug (Switzerland). I Took The Photo At The Weekend, Reminds Me Of The Truman Show
Image credits: DIY_Maxwell
#17 This Is Flat Farmland In Eastern Colorado With Windblown/Melted Patches Of Snow Creating A Crazy 3D Illusion
Image credits: hoerr
Gunnar explained further: “Let's say that we are indeed living in a simulation, what would that mean for us as individuals? For your daily life, probably not much. Could you hack the simulation or find cheat codes? Even if possible, that would be risky. We are part of the simulation, so if you break it or have the beings who do the simulating turn it off, it would effectively erase our universe.”
#18 The Way The Leaves Grow On This Tree Make It Look Blurry
Image credits: PrizeFighter23
#19 8-Bit Pupper
Image credits: ClassicDimension
#20 A Black House In Germany
Image credits: Erik Sturm and Simon Jung
On the other hand, Gunnar added that you could argue that living in a simulation is an encouragement to live life to the fullest. “After all, the more interesting you make it for whoever is running the simulation, the lower the chance that they would flick the off button.”
“Finally, living in a simulation—and being aware of it—would bring a whole host of interesting philosophical questions to the forefront, as well as consideration on religion, and so on,” he explained.
#21 My Phone Glitched While Taking A Picture Of The Sunset And This Happened
Image credits: Ardellia
#22 A Friend On Social Media Spotted This One Pixel Glitch In The Matrix
Image credits: ssigea
#23 The Fog During My Flight Makes Illinois Seem Like It Hasn’t Rendered
Image credits: OBEYTHOVENN
#24 Gotta Turn Up Render Distance
When asked whether there’s a possible way to prove or disprove that we live in a simulation, Gunnar said that there are a few ideas, “but as for whether those are actually technically possible—that's way beyond my expertise.”
He continued: “Most of these ideas are about either zooming in or out. We could try to look at the smallest bits of reality, the resolution of the simulation. If we find a certain 'pixel size' that doesn't fit with our current physical theories, that might be a clue.”
#25 Poorly Rendered Trees, Just A Transparent Texture
Image credits: AthensFinest
#26 Someone Hasn’t Completed The World Of Light Map
Image credits: _njhiker
#27 My Peeler Gives Pixelated Looking Peels
Image credits: blueskiesarepretty
#28 Flying Into Or Out Of A Partially Loaded City
Image credits: somecallme_doc
“On the other hand, we might look at some of the largest representations of the universe we have. If there are unexpected patterns in the cosmic background radiation, that could be a clue as well. Clues, of course, are not evidence. As Carl Sagan said: 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,'" the science expert concluded.
#29 This Building Looks Like It's Just One Wall Of Windows
Image credits: JelaniKazu
#30 Part Of The Cloud Is In Low Resolution
Image credits: iamfromprague
#31 Buildings Look Like They Haven't Fully Rendered In
Image credits: Baitrix
#32 Was In An Airplane When I Noticed How Far My Rendering Distance Actually Is
Image credits: Kaplet
#33 Half-Rendered Building
Image credits: Kooterpounder
#34 Skin Texture Failed To Load
Image credits: JabrenThompson
#35 This Floating Ice Effect Caused By A Flood
Image credits: Willyyz
#36 This Diseased Leaf That Looks Pixelated
Image credits: Kraynix
#37 This Apple Has A Blurry Streak That Looks Like The Texture Hasn't Loaded All The Way
Image credits: SilentKnightOwl
#38 This Parking Deck Looks Like It Has Poor Anti-Aliasing
Image credits: PeppahJackk
#39 My Unmounted Sheet Metal Roof Looks Fake
Image credits: Pittbullbaby
#40 This Grass Brick Combo
Image credits: Jens Willebrand
#41 Real Life Video Game Glitches
Image credits: Uzmintid
#42 The Carts Sign Letters Appear To Float In The Air
Image credits: JetFalco
#43 A Building That Seems To Be Flat
Image credits: vincentnzt
#44 "Lahaina Noon" Is When The Sun Is Positioned Directly Overhead, And It Causes Some Objects To Look Photoshopped Into The World
Image credits: adzierba
#45 This Building Looks Like A Movie Prop
Image credits: CtenoCatcher
#46 This House In My Neighborhood Looks Like The "Untextured" Version Of Others
Image credits: 123123123-NameHere
#47 The Clouds Are Glitching In Phoenix, AZ
Image credits: YamchasSidePiece
#48 Just A Guy Wearing A Hoodie
Image credits: zaferemre
#49 2D Building
Image credits: AsgerMJ
#50 Phone Died As I Was Taking This Picture At My Job At A Vet's Office. Result Was This Glitched Photo Of Thomas The Bengal Cat
Image credits: Mik3Tayl0r
#51 The Way The Shadows Look Between My Coffee Mugs
Image credits: Shitstorm21
#52 This Fence Looks Like The Boundaries Of A Game's Playable Area
Image credits: moyako
#53 When You Can Only Afford A 10x10 Shadow Map
#54 Just The Tide Line, Church Bay, NZ
Image credits: kstakka
#55 A Glitch In The Matrix
Image credits: NoahBurghardt
#56 The Shadow Of This Tree Looks Like It Was Poorly Rendered
Image credits: devbang
#57 The Reflections In This Building Make It Look Like A Bad Render
Image credits: DBaLA
#58 This Boat Looks Like A GPU Rendering Error
Image credits: vardx
#59 The Screens Make These Trees Look Poorly Rendered
Image credits: The_Real_Anthony
#60 This Building That Looks Like It Glitched During The Rendering
Image credits: JKMC4
#61 The Clouds Failed To Render
Image credits: HopefulSwine2
#62 Textures: Ultra, Shader: Ultra, Water: Ultra, Shadows: Low
Image credits: HueLord3000
#63 The Shadows Aren't Rendering Properly
Image credits: PVTZzzz
#64 Downloading Windows - 90% Complete
Image credits: stoin29
#65 Rendering Error
Image credits: BurstYourBubbles
#66 Mirage On Lake Ontario Makes Boat Look Like It's Flying
Image credits: sleppyjess
#67 Help, My Bike Spawned In A Wall
Image credits: tomasek1a
#68 Car Failed To Render Completely
#69 When Your Textures Haven’t Fully Loaded Yet
Image credits: Trainlover129
#70 This Bizarre Brickwork On My Neighboring Building
Image credits: claireicalerror
#71 The Paint On This Building Is The Same Shade As The Sky
Image credits: pachew96
#72 Textures On The Church Hasn't Loaded Yet
#73 Photo I Took Of The Charles River Looks Like Two Different Pictures
Image credits: _jackkk
#74 This Tree Looks Like A Graphics Glitch
Image credits: HembraunAirginator
#75 My Job Is To Build Walls Not Move Screens
Image credits: Sobek188
#76 Building Not Rendered
Image credits: BrigadierBearThe3rd
#77 Looks Like Part Of The Building Is Just Windows
Image credits: FluffyMaMMoth
#78 This Is In Focus
Image credits: chris_jenn
#79 This Building By My School Looks Transparent
Image credits: TheAlternate08
#80 This Pattern Makes It Look Like The Floor Suddenly Drops Off
Image credits: starlinguk
#81 Somebody Made A Trailer With The Same Car That He Pulls The Trailer With
Image credits: HmmmWellOk
#82 This Tunnel Photo I Took Looks Like A 3D Render
Image credits: NoahTheAttacker
#83 This Shadow From Two Different Trees In My Parking Lot
Image credits: UnholyFire23
#84 The Grid Patterned LED Street Lamps Makes The Leaves' Shadow Look Like It Was Rendered On Low Settings
Image credits: BeevyD
#85 The Background Of My Friends Picture Looks Like A Rendering
Image credits: jeansonnejordan
#86 These Vases Look Like They Haven't Rendered In Yet
Image credits: UV-FiveSeven
#87 Didn't Have Enough Batter Left For A Full Waffle. Looks Like It Didn't Finish Rendering
Image credits: reluctantrolemodel
#88 This Bush In My Front Yard Looks Like A Video Game Render
Image credits: grabembythepopcorn
#89 This Floor Looks Like It's Glitching Out
Image credits: auto_orchestra
#90 The Reflection Off A Skyscraper Looks Like The Sky
Image credits: Wolfcubware
#91 So The Clouds Just End There, Interesting
Image credits: I-Molest-Sheep
#92 Real Life Capture Of A Cabinet Gazing Through A Wall
Image credits: soheil_woodworking
#93 This Tree Started To Render Itself Differently Halfway
Image credits: AnalUkelele
#94 The Shine On This Filing Cabinet Makes It Look Like It's Fading Away
Image credits: raevae
#95 Sky Still Loading
Image credits: vanityclaire
#96 Render Distance Incomplete
Image credits: jengajenga1
#97 Damage From Beechie Creek Fire In Gates Oregon
Image credits: ReadItSteveO
#98 Crazy Square Cloud I Saw Today
Image credits: Airspeed12
#99 My Apple Looks Like It's Still Loading
Image credits: FreqRL
#100 These Sea Barrier Rocks Look Like A Poor Computer Generation
Image credits: TVK777
#101 I Took A Picture From A Bus Window When I Visited Dubai, And It Looks Rendered
Image credits: thepoka
#102 Glitch In The Matrix
Image credits: chancellorlp
#103 Texture Hasn’t Fully Rendered On This Half Of This House
Image credits: Pucoyu
#104 This Building Looks Paper-Thin
Image credits: Zbrflz
#105 Glitched Entry
Image credits: GumInMyMouth
#106 Building Looks Like A Wall From This Angle
Image credits: CAZOZ11
#107 In New Orleans
Image credits: TChoppa_Style
#108 Paper Thin Building
Image credits: LifeOfInsight
#109 This Cut In Half Truck That Looks Like It's Coming Out The Floor
Image credits: Digital_Phantoms
#110 The Remnants Of The Arch On The Left Make It Look Like A Real-Life Glitch
Image credits: Lennoxo_Rabinski
#111 This Bike In Tokyo Looks Like A Panorama Photo Glitch
Image credits: tonyLemonjello
#112 A Building With No Depth
Image credits: sd42790
#113 These Tables Look Like A 3D Rendering
Image credits: Metroplexico
#114 This Glitched Out Sprite Can
Image credits: ElectrZZ
#115 Building Looks Like A Wall
Image credits: facefullofmekup
#116 Goats Ignoring Gravity
Image credits: oscartroop1
#117 A Tower In San Francisco Had Its Material Set To Be Semi-Transparent. Or The Napa Fires Caused A Haze In Front Of The Building, Illuminated By The Sun
#118 The Back Of This Traffic Signal Looks Like It Hasn’t Rendered Correctly
Image credits: Tarkus96
#119 My Brother’s Reflective Jacket Looks Like A Rendering
Image credits: JawaSlayer501
#120 The Flowers On This Tree Makes It Look Like It Hasn’t Rendered Yet
Image credits: SquanchMcSquanchFace
#121 This Tree Looks Poorly Rendered
Image credits: JarethKingofGoblins
#122 Ugh, The Dog Is Clipping Again. Please Fix This
Image credits: ermingtrout
#123 Reflections In The Window Look Like A Glitch In A Skybox
Image credits: RoosterjayP
#124 I Thought I Found A Glitch In The Matrix Today. Turned Out To Be A Single Spider Thread Holding Up This Entire Cigarette
Image credits: AnotherSmegHead
#125 Texture Glitch
Image credits: fired-up-fart
#126 This Guy Hasn't Finished Rendering
Image credits: FengaPappits
#127 Blursed Chair
Image credits: DeMan4
#128 More Clipping Issues
Image credits: beene282
#129 Leaf's Data Corrupted
Image credits: Zorano0
#130 Not Sure If This Fits Here But Saw That They’d Removed A Section Of The Sky Ceiling
Image credits: robbie_g74
#131 This Building Looks 2D From Certain Angles
Image credits: Sreenath116
#132 This Building Looks 2D From My Office Window
Image credits: scienfish
#133 Low Resolution Texture On Hospital
Image credits: Shelilla
#134 The Royal Ontario Museum - A Building That Truly Looks Like A Glitch In The Matrix
Image credits: romtoronto
#135 This House In Madisonville That Just Doesn’t Have Any Doors Or Windows. I Guess Someone Is Trying To Get Rid Of Their Sims
Image credits: Clover_Kidd
#136 This Building, That Seems To Be Painted Into Reality
Image credits: interfan5
#137 This Shadow From An LED Street Lamp On This Tree At Night Looks Like Really Bad Shaders In A Video Game
Image credits: last_speedbump
#138 This Cool Pattern Cast On The Snow By Our Street Light
Image credits: mrLiamFa
#139 This Trippy Building In Gangnam, South Korea
Image credits: CrapMySenseofReality
#140 This Building Looks Like It Hasn't Rendered Into The World
Image credits: Clegu
#141 This Building Looks Like Only One Side Rendered Properly
Image credits: EAGELER
#142 My Phone Glitched Out On Me When I Snapped A Pic Of My Cousin Touching The Door To A Crypt And His Arm Disappeared
Image credits: sublime815
#143 I Cut A Pack Of Bacon In Half
Image credits: evilpig
#144 The Shadow Of This Bench Looks Like Pixels In This Picture I Took
Image credits: cool_enough
#145 The Water Bottle Looks Like It's Badly Rendered
Image credits: FarrelMFajar
#146 This Building Looks Like It Hasn’t Finished Rendering Yet
Image credits: Giraffebuns
#147 This Building Is Still Rendering
Image credits: Jarambae
#148 Was Walking To A Friends House One Night When I Realized It Wasn't Night Yet
Image credits: Grimsby545
#149 When You Decrease Shadow Resolution
Image credits: brohannes95
#150 A Man That Seems To Be Glitched Into The Ground
Image credits: leemuel01
#151 Today I Got A Message From The Inside/Outside Of The Matrix
Image credits: emecampuzano
#152 Glitch In The Skybox. Brisbane, Australia
Image credits: gamerboi1
#153 Copy Paste
Image credits: NathanBitTheMoon
#154 Shadows Set On Low
Image credits: NachoRiveraG
#155 This Street Lamp Didn't Render Properly
Image credits: jeeso
#156 This Shadow Cast By A Street Light
Image credits: CptVolcano
#157 This Building Rendering In Dublin
Image credits: koloki8a
#158 I Think I Set My Render Distance Too Low
Image credits: Jacrobe
#159 Ice On A Windy Lake Makes It Look Like A Missing Texture
Image credits: TheDustyPaw
#160 This Building Looks Like It's 2D
Image credits: IBGE
#161 This Plant’s Shadow Looks Like A Low-Resolution In-Game Shadow
Image credits: Emeyelein
#162 Shadows On My Wall Looking Like Bad Shadow Quality In Video Games
Image credits: Abb4don
#163 My Cat Looks Like He Was Rendered In An Old N64 Game
Image credits: TheMaxHatter
#164 My Country Is So Poor It Even Has Low-Quality Shadows
Image credits: AziPloua
#165 The Lake We Flew Over Looks Like Chunks In A Video Game Not Rendering
Image credits: HDBeats
#166 These Solar Farms Look Like Unloaded Pieces In A Video Game
Image credits: Razor1188
#167 These Pates That Look Like A Low-Resolution Texture From A Videogame
Image credits: MeaningfulThoughts
#168 Dead Pixel In Google Earth
Image credits: ghostofanimus
#169 The Construction Next Door Doesn’t Look Real - It Looks Like A Painted Backdrop
Image credits: Einfinitez
#170 The Way The Snow Melted In My University's Courtyard Makes The Floor Look Like A Video Game
Image credits: dougieman97
#171 Tree Leaf Shadows Just After The Total Eclipse
Image credits: reddit.com
#172 These Badly-Rendered Clouds At Dawn
Image credits: abitterbtch
#173 Ladder Glitch
#174 A Pixelated Cat
Image credits: yudoit
#175 The Background Failed To Load
Image credits: VinceTwelve
#176 That One Window Reminds Me Of A Dead Pixel
Image credits: WorkFriendlyAcct
#177 This Shadow That Perfectly Lined Up With The Light Pole
Image credits: caitwcam
#178 This Brick Wall Looks Like It Was Not Rendered Properly
Image credits: Tistaai
#179 The Clouds Reflected Off This Building Look Pixelated
Image credits: Shdhdhsbssh
#180 This Control Tower Isn’t Rendered In Yet
Image credits: Wraith_Does_Memes_V3
#181 Shadow Quality: Low
Image credits: _laurent
#182 The Light On This Door
Image credits: Rattus375
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