The risks of trusting experts →
Bruce Schneier on the convictions of six Italian scientists over a 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila:
[They were] convicted because the public wanted revenge - and the scientists were their most obvious targets. Needless to say, this is having a chilling effect on scientists talking to the public. Enzo Boschi, president of Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Rome, said: “When people, when journalists, asked my opinion about things, I used to tell them, but no more. Scientists have to shut up.” Also, as part of their conviction, those scientists are prohibited from ever holding public office again.
