"Medieval" Court Convicts Scientists: Headline on AOL News
An Italian court startled the international community by handing down six-year prison sentences to a group of Italy's top experts Monday.
Now I’ve heard it all. Seven seismologists were convicted Monday of failing to predict the earthquake that devastated L'Aquila, Italy, killing 308 people in 2009.
The whole scientific community is in an uproar because of this incredible decision. Has anyone ever predicted with pinpoint accuracy any earthquake---or tsunami? Scientists are able to predict trends but never the exact day or time. These scientists weren’t quacks but a group of respected scientists.
What’s next? Will a court claim that scientists in the U.S.A. should be able to predict tornados and where exactly they will strike? Will the devastating fires in the west be subject to prosecution if the scientific community does not see them coming? Or, living here in Florida, Mississippi or Louisiana, should we go after the climatologists who didn’t predict the terrible hurricanes and their devastation?
This is the ultimate blame game. Someone wanted a pound of flesh---or several pounds, it would appear. This is also the ultimate triumph of emotion over reason. I hope some higher court can step in and render order out of this chaos.
Just plain absurd.
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