  We perform a new analysis on the dissipative Olami-Feder-Christensen model on
a small world topology considering avalanche size differences. We show that
when criticality appears the Probability Density Functions (PDFs) for the
avalanche size differences at different times have fat tails with a q-Gaussian
shape. This behaviour does not depend on the time interval adopted and is found
also when considering energy differences between real earthquakes. Such a
result can be analytically understood if the sizes (released energies) of the
avalanches (earthquakes) have no correlations. Our findings support the
hypothesis that a self-organized criticality mechanism with long-range
interactions is at the origin of seismic events and indicate that it is not
possible to predict the magnitude of the next earthquake knowing those of the
previous ones.
