Jiupai News Special Commentator Qinchuan
Before the earthquake in Jishishan, Gansu, local residents found a large number of crows gathering low in the city. Some people said that the gathering of crows was a sign of an earthquake. Is this statement
reliable? According to CCTV, Su Dechen, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, said in an interview: "Every winter, crows prefer to fly to the city to gather. Because urban areas have a heat island effect and are relatively warm." "We cannot say that the crows gather here. A sign of an earthquake." Su Dechen also said that although there have been reports of abnormal reactions in animals when earthquakes occur, from a scientific point of view, so far, it has not been possible to establish the inevitable connection between abnormal reactions of animals and earthquakes. connect.
If you look closely at this sentence, you can draw two conclusions. One is that the crows focusing at low altitude in the local urban area are not a sign of the earthquake. Another is that the so-called animal early warning earthquake is not scientific at present.
But based on reality, we can often see an intriguing phenomenon: there are always people who swear that animals can provide early warning of earthquakes. For example, before the earthquake, birds gathered, poultry flew high, cats and dogs barked, cows stopped producing milk, frogs jumped out of the pond... It was described with nose and eyes, and it was even accompanied by pictures and videos, which made people doubtful and seemed to have no choice but to believe it.
However, the so-called animal early warning earthquake is not scientific at present. Some experts pointed out that there is actually no scientific basis for predicting earthquakes through abnormal animal behavior. The basis is that there are many reasons for abnormal animal behavior, such as ambient temperature, air pressure, humidity, surrounding gas smell and sound, and animal living habits, etc. According to statistics and research at home and abroad, some animals appear abnormal before some major earthquakes. But there are also some major earthquakes before which there are no abnormal animal phenomena. "It is impossible to judge whether the abnormal behavior of animals is related to the occurrence of earthquakes."
It should be said that this conclusion is reasonable. It is unscientific to simply judge the occurrence of an earthquake based on abnormalities in animals. Forcibly linking the two, it is taken for granted that it constitutes a "logical closed loop" and spread widely, which can easily cause panic and make the public feel uneasy, with disastrous consequences.
In addition, there is a popular saying in the market that "fish scale clouds" can also provide early warning of earthquakes. Fish scale clouds are earthquake clouds. If you see fish scale clouds, you should quickly flee from your place of residence. This is even more absurd. Relevant departments have repeatedly refuted rumors that the so-called "earthquake clouds" have nothing to do with earthquakes. It is unscientific to call fish scale clouds an earthquake cloud.
If this is the case, why is there such a market for fish scale clouds and animal abnormalities as early warnings of earthquakes?
On the one hand, the scientific literacy of the people needs to be improved. Statistics released by authoritative departments show that in 2022, the proportion of Chinese citizens with scientific literacy will reach 12.93%. It should be said that this proportion has improved significantly compared with the past, but there is still much room for improvement. Scientific research and science popularization are like the wings of a bird and the two wheels of a cart. They are indispensable and cannot be neglected. There is a long way to go to do a good job in science popularization.
On the other hand, science also has shortcomings and cannot solve all human questions. In this context, when some people are unable to use science to answer "bizarre" phenomena, especially when they cannot find answers that convince them in the information cocoon, they tend to think of non-scientific and irrational things. Based on this,
does not believe in animal warning earthquakes, nor does it spread animal warning earthquakes. This is responsible for ourselves and science. In particular, some public platforms need to keep their roots and fulfill their responsibilities to prevent unscientific and irrational things from becoming popular and disturbing people's hearts.
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