Lowell:

I don’t think you will find many physicists who agree with your statement, “In physics, speculation is ALWAYS justified - that is how progress is made.” It’s just not true. The vast majority of progress in science obtains from research on hypotheses that were begun precisely because they could be justified using scientific principles. Perhaps you are confusing speculation with postulating.

Pure speculation is rarely justified as the basis of an earthquake prediction—that’s one of the primary reason why the “predictions” on Berkland’s syzygy board are such a joke—only rarely does any of them have a rational scientific basis. The same could be said of the so-called sensitives and those who claim to hear earthquakes on this board. There is essentially no chance that progress will derive from either of those types of predictions because they are based solely on speculation that violates the vast body of scientific knowledge that has been accumulating over the past several millennia. The fact is, these notions are so silly that I don’t understand why the scientists who post messages on this board remain mute when such unscientific speculation is posted on a board that is presumed to be scientifically oriented.

Which is the reason I objected to your speculation about proton storms. If you had responded to my message with a satisfactory explanation as to how a proton storm could contribute to the earth’s seismicity, then your response might have been more meaningful. As it is, your statement, “It is easy to say there is nothing to such an such because as you know it is impossible to prove or disprove a negative” is backwards. The fact is, I cannot disprove the speculation that proton storms can trigger earthquakes, so in fact, it is impossible, not easy for me to say that. However, it is possible for a physicist to show that it is extremely unlikely that proton storms could have a significant effect on earthquakes. Unless you can show otherwise, don’t you think it’s a bit premature to start speculating that an earthquake might occur in response to one of them?