The upshot of this decision is that the Italian court has inadvertently proclaimed seismology to be an "exact" science and the loss of life is based on human factors such as poor judgement, incompetence, deception etc
Quote:
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The judge said that the information these scientists provided to the committee was "inexact, incomplete and contradictory,"
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An interesting quote given it is a textbook definition for an "inexact" science.
Like climate science, seismology has mechanisms that can impose positive or negative feedback on a system. The key is to determine which is the stronger feedback.
For example the "swarm of small earthquakes" leading to the chances of a major earthquake (the standard line) could just as well have resulted in a reduction in the build up of internal stresses, thereby reducing the chances.
Predicting the correct outcome is not as straightforward as the Italian courts would seem to suggest.
Regards
Steven