Roman public succumbs to superstition

[rumborak]

Yay:

https://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/italy/110511/rome-earthquake-prediction-may-11-facebook-twitter-sickie-internet-viral

A prediction that a massive earthquake that would destroy Rome, Italy, on Wednesday — fanned by Twitter, Facebook, blogs and talk shows — caused widespread panic in the city.

Thousands of people in the Italian capital are staying home from work in response to the Internet buzz over a quake prediction supposedly made decades ago by the late pseudoscientist Raffaele Bendandi, the BBC reports.

rumborak

[Quadrochosis]

lol

[Nigerius Rex]

They all collectively decided they wanted time off work...they dont actually believe this garbage.

[Dublagent66]

Yeah, and since when does scientific prediction translate to superstition?  Oh wait, you posted this just for fun right?   

[j]

Re-read the OP, Dublagent.

-J

[rumborak]

Yeah, and since when does scientific prediction translate to superstition?  Oh wait, you posted this just for fun right?   

The guy "predicted" earthquakes by studying sun and moon movements, and at the same time being blissfully unaware of the existence of tectonic plates (since those were discovered in the 50s).

rumborak

[Dublagent66]

Well ok, but what I meant was, your use of the word “superstition” is misleading.  At any rate, the guy was partially right even if he didn’t have all the facts.  Gravitational affects do cause tectonic plates to move.  I’ll bet that modern day scientists could go back and see how the positions of the moon and planets at any given time could coincide with seismic events.  Agreed?  Superstition doesn’t seem like the right word to me.  That’s all I’m saying.

[GuineaPig]

Well ok, but what I meant was, your use of the word “superstition” is misleading.  At any rate, the guy was partially right even if he didn’t have all the facts.  Gravitational affects do cause tectonic plates to move.  I’ll bet that modern day scientists could go back and see how the positions of the moon and planets at any given time could coincide with seismic events.  Agreed?  Superstition doesn’t seem like the right word to me.  That’s all I’m saying.

It is most definitely superstition.  Gravity has almost zero effect on plate tectonics.

[juice]

Apparently there was a pretty good sized earthquake in Spain today.  It wasn't in Rome but close enough?

[GuineaPig]

5.1 is nothing.

[zerogravityfat]

5.1 is a fun

[AcidLameLTE]

I prefer it to 5.0 though.

[wasteland]

5.1 is a fun

A 5.1 in Rome would probably have killed a few hundreds people... In 2009 a 5.9 earthquake hit the nearby city L'Aquila, and resulted in the death of 308. Italy is one of the most seismic country in the world, and yet relatively small quakes keep destroying entire unequipped towns. But the worst part of the story is that when the cries of the victims cease, and the dust subsides, no one cares anymore. L'Aquila's dwellers who lost everything are still without a house where to live, and many victims of the 1980 earthquake in southern Italy are waiting as well...

We are generally and traditionally supertitious, and too often we believe to the most spectacular and laughable bullshits, but I think we deserve to be criticized for some other worse flaws...

Anyway, I read that an earthquake was "scheduled" for today a couple of years ago, but I completely forgot the thing until I heard it today on the TV news. As I said before it amazes me how easy is to believe in such nonsense when you are not educated to think with your head and inform yourself   

[bosk1]

You do realize a 5.9 is MUCH stronger than a 5.1, correct?

[wasteland]

You do realize a 5.9 is MUCH stronger than a 5.1, correct?

I do, since the richter scale is logarithmic or something like that. However, 5.9 is hardly comparable to the a 8.0 or 9.0.

I do not expect each city in my country to be prepared to stand the "Big One", but at least to be ready if a "Medium One" hits, which happens roughly once in a decade. You may rightfully say that the older bouldings can hardly be modified to fit the anti-seismic standards, but then you have to know that much of what has been destroyed was built quite recently... only with lesser and often inadeguate materials in order to maximize the profits.

So, regardless of the strenght and destructive power that an earthquake might have, people will die if these state of things does not change.

I hope things work differently there in the US. I really hope that the construction companies in California put safety well before gain...

[jsem]

You do realize a 5.9 is MUCH stronger than a 5.1, correct?

I do, since the richter scale is logarithmic or something like that. However, 5.9 is hardly comparable to the a 8.0 or 9.0.

I do not expect each city in my country to be prepared to stand the "Big One", but at least to be ready if a "Medium One" hits, which happens roughly once in a decade. You may rightfully say that the older bouldings can hardly be modified to fit the anti-seismic standards, but then you have to know that much of what has been destroyed was built quite recently... only with lesser and often inadeguate materials in order to maximize the profits.

So, regardless of the strenght and destructive power that an earthquake might have, people will die if these state of things does not change.

I hope things work differently there in the US. I really hope that the construction companies in California put safety well before gain...

The thing is.. southern Italy is rather poor and they're not exactly well prepared for any earthquakes.

[wasteland]

The thing is.. southern Italy is rather poor and they're not exactly well prepared for any earthquakes.

You know, it's not that we are exceptionally poor compared to the North, as we call it, even though some strong economic differences occur between this two imaginary zones.

The real thing, however, is that we are not unprepared beacause we are "poor": we are unprepared beacause we are generally very short-sighted when it comes to give up some extra wealth to build a better future... And this is quite sad, since that seems a trend impossible to be changed, and and those who realize where the problem really is can only witness as its consequences go well beyond earthquakes...

[rumborak]

Apparently there was a pretty good sized earthquake in Spain today.  It wasn't in Rome but close enough?

So, err, if I forecast "It will rain in Boston", and then the whole Northeast is dry and I reply "well, it rained in Chicago on that day!", that's still a good forecast?

rumborak

[zerogravityfat]

don't you know italy and spain are the same to republican space rangers?