Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:55:21.990Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - The L’Aquila Trial and the Public Communication of Risk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2024

Paul Embrechts
Affiliation:
Swiss Federal University (ETH), Zürich
Marius Hofert
Affiliation:
The University of Hong Kong
Valérie Chavez-Demoulin
Affiliation:
Université de Lausanne, Switzerland
Get access

Summary

We single out the 2006 L’Aquila earthquake in Italy as it yields a dramatic perspective on the problem of evidence-based communication. In the aftermath of this earthquake, several scientists were sentenced to jail for insufficiently clear communication related to an imminent earthquake. Though the sentences were later overturned, we can all learn from this example. It is interesting that this court case took place in the country that also tried Galileo Galilei in the seventeenth century for his defense of heliocentrism. A wonderful example in this context is provided by Galileo’s Dialogo published in 1632. In this publication, Galileo communicates his findings to a wider public through a series of dialogues between two philosophers and a layman. We present several parallels to present-day discussions on risk and science communication.

Type
Chapter
Information
Risk Revealed
Cautionary Tales, Understanding and Communication
, pp. 57 - 66
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×