Entertaining Geophysics 5. The Study of Seismic Phenomena as the Process of Fortune-Telling on the Coffee Grounds. Harry Fielding Reid Made a Mistake, and Several Generations of Geophysicists Got into Trouble

Abstract

This article represents the fifth work in a series of articles under the general title Funny Geophysics, the purpose of which is to popularize the earth sciences, and this abstract will be common to the works of the entire cycle. Answering the question of why we call serious science entertaining, we answer that at the moment there are no rigorous scientific disciplines such as seismology, tectonics, volcanology, etc., that explain the process of earthquakes and other catastrophic rock movements. Instead, there are pseudo-scientific fantasies of modern geophysicists, built on mythical ideas about the structure of the earth's crust and mantle. Figuratively speaking, we can safely say that the modern reasoning of geophysicists boils down to the fact that our Earth stands on three turtles and earthquakes are the result of the movement of these animals. This situation is partly due to the fact that our knowledge of the internal structure of the Earth is limited to a depth of 12 km, and what is deeper than this mark still remains a mystery to us. And what happens at a depth of hundreds of kilometers turns out to be a secret behind seven locks for us. But an even greater mystery for mankind is the question of why modern geophysics ossified at the level of the beginning of the 20th century and operates with the knowledge of that period, in every possible way ignoring the achievements of modern sciences? Tell me what's wrong? Then why all modern geophysics is based on the speculations of Mr. Reid and his mythical elastic stresses, which supposedly arise during the deformation of rocks? We will try to answer this question, and at the same time, using simple examples of catastrophic earthquakes and other seismic events, we will show the unforgivable errors of modern geophysics.