In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Massimo and Julia discuss a recent court case that shocked the world: A group of Italian scientists were sentenced to 6 years in prison for failing to effectively warn the public of an earthquake that killed over 300 people in 2009. Was this decision fair? And how should we decide where the boundaries of scientific accountability lie?
Julia's pick: "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life"
Massimo's pick: "Ten of the greatest Philosophical principles"
References:
Ian Pollock's "Risk and Blame" blog post
Great podcast! Glad you liked my post.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is that tremors don't increase the chance of an earthquake any more than weird animal behavior or radon gas or anything else does, because we can't predict earthquakes.
ReplyDeleteThe only effect the tremors might have had was to weaken the buildings, making them less safe in the event of an earthquake, but that's civil engineering, not geoscience.
Scientists, like any professionals, should be punished if they commit malpractice, like using junk science or lying about risks, but where did the Italian geologists do that?
There was a pseudoscientist named Giampaolo Giuliani who did warn of an earthquake 30 miles away near Sulmona. He was placed under investigation by prosecutors for causing alarm. Those residents who listened to him might have evacuated to the place where the earthquake struck.