Abstract
A long-expected but unpredictable earthquake just struck the community. A few seconds before the shaking seismic waves hit the city, the early warning system has alerted sensitive infrastructures and people through the advanced communication network connected to the widely spread arrays of monitoring seismic stations. Schoolchildren and citizens, well trained in advance, have dropped and covered up, turned off stoves and stopped delicate operations. In businesses, automated systems have opened the elevator doors, shut down production lines and placed sensitive equipment in a safe mode. In no time, power stations and grid facilities have been put in safety position to protect from strong shaking. Emergency responders have started to prepare and prioritize response decisions.
All men naturally strive for knowledge [πάντες ἄνθρωποι τοῦ εἰδέναι ὀρέγονται φύσει]
First sentence of Aristotle’s Metaphysics (πρώτη φιλοσοφία)
As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
Mr. Corleone insists on hearing bad news immediately
“The Godfather” screen version, 1972
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Chernov, D., Sornette, D. (2016). Setting the Landscape. In: Man-made Catastrophes and Risk Information Concealment. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24301-6_1
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