http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20025626

Judiciary and general public display a total ignorance of science and go on a witch hunt….once again.

So who is going to be willing to help governments in Italy make risk assessments about natural hazards now? If the answers science was only able to give were certainties, we’d never be where we are now.

i’d study english before science, because it’s already being discussed 😆

geordiemick00 – Member
i’d study english before science, because it’s already being discussed

😆

EDIT: I’m always doing this!

i’d study english before science, because it’s already being discussed

Damnit!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfxl_UsA-Qs[/video]

That is madness, I can hardly believe that is possible in this day and age.

Yes I heard about this, without knowing the exact details it’s hard to be certain…. but it looks absolutely crazy.

Wasn’t aware that earthquake prediction was an exact science!?

Reminds me of complaints my brother (mental health) and sister in law (who works in a truly frightening mental health ward) about media and government reactions scaring off potentially excellent people from entering the field.

The Italians have an odd legal system though. Effectively whenever someone dies in an accident, they look for someone to blame. I’d not have been surprised if they’d tried to imprison the builders of the properties that collapsed had the houses not been so old. If I recall correctly, Patrick Head was found guilty of manslaughter because of Ayrton Senna’s crash in 1994.

@bwaarp – thanks for posting, this is extra-ordinary.

The result of this action should be all scientists withdrawing from roles which could be subject to such action.

The ex-Prime Minister isn’t in jail and neither is the cruise ship captain, but earthquake scientists are ?

never mind all this.. we need to be concerning ourselves with the real issues..

such as why didn’t you didn’t see fit to present us with your science based beliefs on my cow/yeast infinite multiverse hypothesis thread..

If you are a scientist you should know you need to check your literature first 😉

The ex-Prime Minister isn’t in jail and neither is the cruise ship captain, but earthquake scientists are ?

That just about says it all.

Why not put the Pope on trial? I mean he has a direct line to God, he clearly wasn’t listening hard enough

The Italians have an odd legal system though. Effectively whenever someone dies in an accident, they look for someone to blame. I’d not have been surprised if they’d tried to imprison the builders of the properties that collapsed had the houses not been so old. If I recall correctly, Patrick Head was found guilty of manslaughter because of Ayrton Senna’s crash in 1994.

I think it’s Catholicism. If something goes wrong it must be the work of satan and his followers (eg scientists), it’s not that we live in a random uncaring universe, no…. bad things are the work of godless people. Time to burn some more witches

I look forward to hearing that the pope is asking god for earthquake predictions.

On that note, why are they not arresting priests for 1000+ years of false predictions about sin, hell and satan?

http://www.nature.com/news/shock-and-law-1.11643

Nature just said more or less the same as I did but with a little more tact.

Seems like further evidence of Italy being a mental country but one of the comments is interesting.

The reason why they are under trial isn’t related to their scientific opinion, but it is linked to the influence local politics and former chief of the national civil protection agency had on the way they acted. In fact there’s a phone registration where Bertolaso (CPA) said that the meeting would have been held only to affirm that everything was fine. So they are sentenced not for scientific reason but because of theri political affiliation. They’re paid by the people not to serve politics

The reason why they are under trial isn’t related to their scientific opinion, but it is linked to the influence local politics and former chief of the national civil protection agency had on the way they acted. In fact there’s a phone registration where Bertolaso (CPA) said that the meeting would have been held only to affirm that everything was fine. So they are sentenced not for scientific reason but because of theri political affiliation. They’re paid by the people not to serve politics

From what I gather from various articles including Nature who have been following this closely, is that is debatable.

If this is true however then this begs the question why scientists should advice governments or take positions of responsibility. Scientists are never allowed to serve the people, only government as evidenced by the sacking of prominent scientists here in the UK over Britons drug policy. If they don’t tow the line they get fired and according to some murdered like Dr Kelly. If this comment turns out to be true, then it is the government that probably got this statement out of the scientists under duress that should be on trial.