#323: Jim Pinkoski

Jim Pinkoski is a huge fan of the late Ron Wyatt, a sort of Indiana Jones wannabe who traveled around searching for relics of the major events of the Bible, such as Noah’s ark and the Ark of the Covenant – and claimed to have found them. Several times. Even Answers in Genesis are mildly skeptical (but some people apparently still fall for it). Pinkoski – a young earth creationist like Wyatt – currently travels around the States opening museums in Wyatt’s honor and attempts to argue that Wyatt really agreed with him on the important issues: for instance, on whether there were dinosaurs on the Ark. Pinkoski thinks he can prove that dinosaurs drowned during the flood: “The fossil remains of numerous dinosaurs have been found with their heads and necks arched upwards, as if in their death throes they were straining to to keep their heads above water!” This, you see, is – in Pinkoski’s eyes – scientific proof, no less, that the dinosaurs drowned.

Anyway, Pinkoski is immortalized for creating the fallacy known as “PYGMIES + DWARFS”. “PYGMIES + DWARFS” denotes a very simple inference and a wonderfully silly non sequitur which got its name by Pinkoski’s answer to “how do we know that there were biblical giants”: Because there are very short people (pygmies + dwarfs) nowadays. Discussed here. He is so fond of the argument that he has repeated it on numerous occasions. As an inference rule, “PYGMIES + DWARFS” resembles Prior’s “tonk” (an example - the original - is here). From “Science lies”, apply Pygmies+Dwarfs Introduction to get “you can’t prove that not X”; then apply Pygmies+Dwarfs Elimination to conclude “Bible is inerrant”. So, since Science lies (follows from any premise and Pygmies+Dwarfs Introduction), the Bible is inerrant.

Now, to be fair, few people rival Pinkoski for the ability to come up with and fervently defend stupid arguments. The following is an example. Pinkoski asks: “Nearly every major university in the world currently favors the theory of evolution, but the pendulum of truth is now swinging back to the Biblical story of creationism! Why is it taking so long? Why is it so difficult for people to ‘change their minds’ and accept this?? Perhaps there is one reason …” You know what the reason is, according to Pinkoski?

The reason is that humans only use 10% of their brains.

Duh!

You can read about Pinkoski attempting to explain Trinity in comic book format here (his stuff, by the way, is published by BibleLand Studios). 

Pinkoski is, obviously, the founder of the pinkoskism - an argument to the falsity of evolution on grounds so stupid that even Ray Comfort may be uncomfortable with them. A collection of pinkoskisms can be found here.

Diagnosis: Addlejam and Dunning-Kruger galore. Rarely has the combination of fallacious reasoning and lack of knowledge been taken to similar levels of reverse brilliance. He is probably harmless.