Hank's Tumblr

caolcaoimhe:

So I really like John Green and all that, but the thing is that I was surprised at how seemingly underwhelmed he was to the speculation that the Universe has no edge. I mean, the prospect that the Universe is infinite and also growing completely overwhelms me. I feel like John is Tricia McMillan saying “Oh that’s cool, let’s go on a road (space) trip LOL” and I’m Arthur Dent, completely incapable of grasping the sudden infinity of EVERYTHING put before me. So much so, that I might trip over myself, get distracted by the beauty of existence, miss the ground, and learn to fly by accident.

The idea that the Universe has no edge, that it is infinite, allows for us beings with consciousness to imagine what lies in the unreachable depth of space and only drives us further to seek new and wonderful things that make each passing second of existence more meaningful and beautiful than the last.  So, not 42, but, for me, I think that’s a perfectly legitimate reason for Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Hank Green here has done something for me in the past four years what few people have done in my entire life. He’s helped me to treasure the weird and the wonderful and the Unknown in the greater pursuit of knowledge and that is not something I can quantify. And so when I painted this, it was a true pleasure to paint someone for whom I have only the deepest respect and affection. (Also his nerdy, and sometimes naughty, sense of humour reminds me a lot of Douglas Adams who would have celebrated his 60th birthday this year.)

Also, you can view a high-res image here.

woah

(Source: historicalbird)