The abstract makes it clear this is part of searching for an earthquake global warning syndrome. So in terms of motivation why the link exists is secondary, if

The abstract makes it clear this is part of searching for an earthquake global warning syndrome. So in terms of motivation why the link exists is secondary, if it can for warn significant earthquakes that is all that matters. Besides, the first "scientists" looked at the sky and just stared until patterns appeared. You can't condemn scientists for looking at data. Not everything can be magicked up from first principles in a vacuum. No scientist would claim that falsifiable hypothesis and empirical validation aren't needed. But I don't think any scientist would criticise someone for looking for patterns on a whim and pointing it out to others. A favourite example[0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulam_spiral#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulam_spiral#History