A hermeneutic reading of the seismic record: improbable probabilities?

That geology is a hermeneutic, or interpretive, science where perception is structured by conception, is well-demonstrated by examination of seismicity. The use of a previously unused tool — probability graph analysis — allows interpretation of the seismic record as composed of a series of sometimes overlapping sets of earthquake magnitudes. These populations can each be described as normally distributed —; thus negating the value of the Gutenberg-Richter relationship as a predictive tool. As normal distributions provide a basis for probability analysis in their own right, this conception should still allow probabilistic seismic hazard analysis — assuming of course that the populations defined overlap the magnitudes of interest for hazard analysis.