Correlation Does Not Equal Causation



Nothing helps an argument like poorly assembled and decidedly misinterpreted statistics (when your opponent starts to point out your flawed reasoning, call him a Nazi). Still, Vali Chandrasekaran of Business Week thinks that we should all be careful drawing conclusions from merely correlated data points. There are several more humorous examples at the link.

Link -via @MarilynTerrell | Previously: The Science News Cycle

The mountain range one is really amazing, assuming it's a real picture. But the others share only one data point, so they're not that significant. The trend lines aren't even that close.
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Fantastic. I've studied Research Methodology, and I hated how some academics jumped to conclusions just because there was correlation; or even worse, ignored or inflated some variables to get the necessary correlation so they can call it causation.

A great deal of bad policy - including economic policy - is created because of a faith in correlation=causation.

We are warned about this, but it's such a common mistake by most.
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Correlation Causation

and furthermore

Statistics Science

It's amazing how many people confuse statistics and science, especially people who should know better.
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One of the most useful classes that I took in library school was on social science research methods. It taught me a lot about how to design and implement a valid test, as well as draw conclusions from the data. And that was just what I picked up while I was awake.
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