Can someone Eli5 please.
In: 8
The two are not exclusive.
“Correlation between A and B” means A and B both tend to happen at the same time (or to the same people, etc). It may be because A directly or indirectly causes B. Or it may be because B causes A. Or it may be coincidence, or it may be because something else (call it C) causes A and B.
So when people say “Correlation doesn’t mean causation”, what they’re saying is, if you notice A and B are correlated, don’t automatically assume it’s because A causes B.
For example, you may observe that smokers tend to get lung cancer. That’s correlation. Is it because smoking increases the risk of lung cancer? In this case, yes. It’s causation.
You may also observe that people who carry cigarette lighters tend to get lung cancer. Thats’ also a perfectly valid correlation. Is it because cigarette lighters cause lung cancer? Probably not. It’s because something else (smoking) causes lung cancer and also causes you to carry a cigarette lighter. So in this case, it’s correlation but not causation.
Sometimes it’s very hard to distinguish between the two, which is why it’s so important to find out. For example, if a study shows people who drink red wine live longer than people who drink beer, you’d be tempted to concluded that red wine is good for you. But it might be because the kind of people who drink red wine tend to be middle-class people who can afford better health care, while beer is more popular among blue-collar workers.
Latest Answers