Okay I figured out why this image has so much impact on me...



I'm scientifically literate and I don't believe in anything supernatural or religious. I'm too comfortable with the conceptual limits of what's possible and impossible within present human knowledge. All the powers in the universe can be neatly categorized into natural interactions or human institutions, as entropy at work. I've forgotten what it's like to behold a power and intellect completely beyond my comprehension. It's why movies always seemed so intense when you were a kid, because you weren't distracted by the unrealistic mistakes and misconceptions of the filmmakers, the stakes seemed so high and the forces in conflict seemed mythic in scale.



This illustration is spectacular. Mysterious and powerful, it reminded me what mind-blowing art really means.