[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fJMhJMjcw8GsFahPEAH_b0MpAdNtMiRaG3FeLoYw_-WI":3,"$fBqhr9ScD-89cXlor7xvIc3QcPi1xkoVsAi3jpgVAE5A":51},{"author":4,"tags":50},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":10,"bio_jsonld":11,"slug":48,"image_url":49},67410,"Bobby Henderson","B",9,"Bobby Henderson is an American physicist, writer, and academic, born on 18 July 1980, and the founder of Pastafarianism.\n\nHenderson attended Roseburg High School before continuing his education at Oregon State University. From this background he went on to found Pastafarianism, a movement whose central figure is the Flying Spaghetti Monster. He later set down this work in writing with The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a notable work associated with his name.\n\nHenderson's career spans the roles of physicist, writer, and academic, and his most prominent contributions remain the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the founding of Pastafarianism.","Bobby Henderson is an American physicist, writer, and academic, born on 18 July 1980, and the founder of Pastafarianism.",{"@graph":12,"@context":47},[13,24],{"@id":14,"name":6,"@type":15,"sameAs":16,"birthDate":22,"description":23},"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q379057","Person",[14,17,18,19,20,21],"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Henderson_(activist)","https://viaf.org/viaf/34783945/","https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2006019395","https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL2839146A","https://d-nb.info/gnd/132867184","1980-07-18","founder of Pastafarianism",{"@type":25,"author":26,"headline":29,"isBasedOn":30,"mainEntity":31,"reviewedBy":32,"articleBody":9,"dateCreated":33,"dateModified":34,"additionalProperty":35,"creativeWorkStatus":46},"Article",{"name":27,"@type":28},"Editorial Team","Organization","Bobby Henderson — biography",[14,17,19,20],{"@id":14},{"name":27,"@type":28},"2026-05-24T18:03:31.644981+00:00","2026-05-24T18:11:22.250620+00:00",[36,40,43],{"@type":37,"value":38,"propertyID":39},"PropertyValue","Q379057","wikidata",{"@type":37,"value":41,"propertyID":42},"1.000","factscore",{"@type":37,"value":44,"propertyID":45},"claude-sonnet-4-6-r1","draftModel","AI-drafted, auto-published","https://schema.org","bobby-henderson",null,[],{"quotes":52,"pagination":135},[53,61,67,73,80,86,94,105,116],{"id":54,"quote_text":55,"author_id":5,"source_id":56,"has_image":57,"author":58,"source":59,"quote_tag":60,"commentary":49},2894557,"To support this thesis, scientists tell us that we share 95 percent of our DNA with chimpanzees, and yet we share 99.9 percent of our DNA with Pirates.6I ask you, who is the more likely common ancestor?",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":48,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":49},{},[],{"id":62,"quote_text":63,"author_id":5,"source_id":56,"has_image":57,"author":64,"source":65,"quote_tag":66,"commentary":49},2894549,"College costs money- a lot. Yet education in itself is not of much value. For example, we can look to the general public’s almost complete disregard for anything that educated people have to say about global warming, shrinking oil reserves, pollution, or the threat of nuclear annihilation. But if all this is true, why does something as worthless as a college diploma cost so much money?",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":48,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":49},{},[],{"id":68,"quote_text":69,"author_id":5,"source_id":56,"has_image":57,"author":70,"source":71,"quote_tag":72,"commentary":49},2894534,"Someone has described religious warfare as “killing people over who has the best invisible friend.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":48,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":49},{},[],{"id":74,"quote_text":75,"author_id":5,"source_id":56,"has_image":57,"author":76,"source":77,"quote_tag":78,"commentary":79},2894514,"Today Plato is nearly forgotten. His beliefs include the notion that people who govern should be intelligent, rational, self-controlled, and in love with wisdom, an idea that has long been discredited.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":48,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":49},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nBobby Henderson, a philosopher and critic of pseudoscience, likely wrote this passage as part of his broader critique of dogmatic thinking. The era of his life relevant to the sentiment was marked by an increasing awareness of the dangers of blind faith and the importance of rational inquiry.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nOn the surface, Henderson's statement appears to be a commentary on Plato's outdated ideas about governance. However, upon closer inspection, it reveals a more profound critique of modern society: the notion that intelligence, rationality, self-control, and love of wisdom are no longer valued in those who govern. This paradox highlights how societal norms can gradually erode even the most fundamental principles of good leadership.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, recognize that even in positions of power, the qualities that Plato held dear - intelligence, rationality, self-control, and love of wisdom - are often undervalued. By prioritizing these characteristics in your own professional or creative endeavors, you can carve out a more lasting impact amidst an increasingly superficial culture.",{"id":81,"quote_text":82,"author_id":5,"source_id":56,"has_image":57,"author":83,"source":84,"quote_tag":85,"commentary":49},2894493,"I have never even seen a witch, let alone felt the need to burn one to death. We can conclude, then, that our forefathers, equipped with the knowledge that supernatural explanations were reasonable, rounded up all the witches in existence and took care of them. The other possibility is that there are witches out there, hiding somewhere, plotting their revenge, liberally applying fireproofing compounds to themselves. And someday they may reappear and start causing trouble.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":48,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":49},{},[],{"id":87,"quote_text":88,"author_id":5,"source_id":89,"has_image":57,"author":90,"source":91,"quote_tag":92,"commentary":93},845059,"Disclaimer: While Pastafarianism is the only religion based on empirical evidence, it should also be noted that this is a faith-based book. Attentive readers will note numerous holes and contradictions throughout the text; they will even find blatant lies and exaggerations. These have been placed there to test the reader's faith.",2,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":48,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":49},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nBobby Henderson's quote is an excerpt from his 2006 book \"The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster,\" a satirical work that critiques the concept of faith and the role of evidence in religious beliefs. At the time of writing, Henderson was a 24-year-old graduate student in physics, and his book was a response to the controversy surrounding intelligent design being taught in schools. The book's irreverent tone and emphasis on the importance of skepticism and critical thinking were reflective of the post-9/11 era, where faith and science were being increasingly politicized.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nThe quote reveals a paradoxical stance on the nature of faith and evidence. On one hand, Henderson affirms the importance of empirical evidence, which is a cornerstone of scientific inquiry. On the other hand, he acknowledges that faith-based beliefs can coexist with, and even thrive in, the presence of contradictions and lies. This tension highlights the complex relationship between faith, skepticism, and the human desire for meaning and certainty.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset in today's professional or creative endeavors, recognize that even the most well-intentioned projects can benefit from a dose of skepticism and self-doubt. By embracing the possibility that your work may contain \"holes and contradictions,\" you can create space for constructive criticism, iteration, and growth, ultimately producing work that is more robust and resilient.",{"id":95,"quote_text":96,"author_id":5,"source_id":89,"has_image":57,"author":97,"source":98,"quote_tag":99,"commentary":49},685206,"We find, counterintuitively, that a small population correlates with shorter humans, and a larger population correlates with taller humans. This only makes sense in light of the FSM theory of gravity. With more people on earth today, there are fewer Noodly Appendages to go around, so we each receive less touching—pushing down toward the earth—and thus, with less force downward, we're taller.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":48,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":49},{},[100],{"id":101,"tag":102},3423179,{"id":103,"tag_name":104},9561,"gravity",{"id":106,"quote_text":107,"author_id":5,"source_id":89,"has_image":57,"author":108,"source":109,"quote_tag":110,"commentary":49},549444,"We are not saying that Evolution can't exist, only that it is guided by His Noodly Appendage.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":48,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":49},{},[111],{"id":112,"tag":113},2979684,{"id":114,"tag_name":115},2867,"evolution",{"id":117,"quote_text":118,"author_id":5,"source_id":89,"has_image":57,"author":119,"source":120,"quote_tag":121,"commentary":49},444507,"And evolution wasn't even properly invented until the late 1800s. Is that enough time to get a Labrador retriever from a dire wolf? I think not.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":48,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":49},{},[122,127,130],{"id":123,"tag":124},2549060,{"id":125,"tag_name":126},1400,"satire",{"id":128,"tag":129},2549059,{"id":114,"tag_name":115},{"id":131,"tag":132},2549057,{"id":133,"tag_name":134},38409,"darwinism",{"currentPage":136,"totalPages":136,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":137},1,10]