So you want to be a seismologist

[kandrathe]

I got to question 7 on that Scientific Literacy quiz before I gave up in anger. The questions are terrible. The multiple choice format is limiting, but that's no excuse for the focus on irrelevant knowledge rather that the fundamental scientific principles. Asking which plant Mendel used for genetics experiments or what variable physicists use to denote the speed of light completely misses the point.

I was doing pretty well up until the 40's when I quit from boredom. It is mostly a science trivia quiz, which then delved quickly into subject matter once memorized and long forgotten. How many of us non-biologists keep up on our meiosis versus mitosis cycles. I guessed correctly in the multiple choices, but frankly I'd be hard pressed to explain the cycles in depth anymore. Who's memorized the periodic table of elements lately? I'm thinking of an atomic number, 82, which is very dense... what am I?

But, when someone asks you; "Do you want to earn a hefty commission and be on the National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks?" We know now to say; "No, I'll just continue to earn my lucrative professorial salary by continuing to lecture and write endless books on the unpredictable". I've been involved with risk management (volatile chemical spills due to train derailment) in my career. Where you fail in risk management is in your lack of planning for the unexpected, rather than in predicting exactly when it will happen. Possibly, you could go around to every structure and give it a rating for various seismic events. Then inform every resident of their risks ahead of time and let them determine whether to remain in their collapse prone dwellings. Just a thought.

On the other hand, I think people need to have a modicum of common sense. If you live in a flood plain, there might be floods. If you live in a hurricane zone, you might be in a few hurricanes. If you live on a coast, you may need to deal with a tsunami once in awhile. If you live in a northern climate, you may experience, extreme cold, snow, ice, or all of the above. It's sometimes very hot and dry in the desert -- you may get thirsty when the water supply disappears for you and your millions of neighbors. If you live by Deebye, there are the bears and the moose to worry about.