Creationist Smackdown: Pterosaur Edition

While browsing The Guardian today, I came across a fun creationist smackdown. An article from the Institute for Creation Research (one of the larger, well-known creationist organizations) suggested that evolutionary presuppositions led to the initial incorrect judgment that pterosaurs could not fly. Paleontologist Dave Hone, who studies pterosaurs, would have none of that and effectively shows not only that the article is wrong on historic grounds (i.e. the history of science), but that it was actually creationists of the time who originally thought pterosaurs couldn't fly. Speaking to creationists and referring to current knowledge, the last sentence sums it up nicely:

It is scientific researchers who got us here, not you; those outmoded ideas you are sneering at as having come from incorrect preconceptions came from your philosophical ancestors, not ours.

I have a long-standing rule of thumb that creationists simply cannot be trusted, and it is because of things like this. That's not to say that everything mainstream scientists write is 100% accurate (scientifically or historically), but I find that it's best never to accept a creationist argument at face value. The moment you think that a creationist has a good point is the moment you should be very cautious.

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