I put the word "amateurs" in quotes. I guess by that I mean folks who are NOT in the usual scientific mainstream. Many so called amateurs have come up with useful things in other fields, so I didn't mean it in a derogatory fashion. It does seem that scientists IN the field end up explaining basics such as statistical significance and expected frequency to people who are not trained in these areas.

When it comes to seismology, I too am an "amateur" since this is not/was not an area in which I was terribly well informed.