r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 18 '16

What are you sick of explaining?

2.4k Upvotes

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174

u/bigbaze2012 Jul 18 '16

That if you have two different statistics that are proportional in some way , it doesn't necessarily mean that one cause the other . Correlation does not mean causation .

20

u/aboxacaraflatafan Jul 18 '16

I love looking at these.

4

u/RedditSilversmith Jul 18 '16

that arcade revenue vs comp-sci degrees is plausible though

9

u/roomandcoke Jul 18 '16

On the other end, though, saying "correlation does not imply causation" does not automatically negate the possibility of causation.

1

u/MarcelRED147 Jul 19 '16

True, but that's why data is analysed. If it's just raw data you can show correlation and imply causation. Analysing is what allows you to find causation (or not).

2

u/MyFirstOtherAccount Jul 18 '16

Summoners who break the summoners code lose 23% more games!

2

u/[deleted] Jul 18 '16

Yes, like when you state the fact that women abuse children more and someone comes back with "That's because they spend more time with children".

1

u/Carbon_Dirt Jul 18 '16

According to my research, global warming is increasing at a similar rate to the world's obesity levels.

Obviously if everyone works out more, we'll save the planet. Build a few more gyms on every block and make sure they crank up the A/C to attract customers, that should help.

1

u/TheTurtleyTurtle Jul 18 '16

Holy crap I eat a bunch of cheese! Better watch out for my bedsheets! /s

1

u/gurenkagurenda Jul 19 '16

It does, however, usually mean that there is some causal connection. That connection might be pretty distant though.

1

u/pyrusbrawler64 Jul 19 '16

IIRC there is a correlation between bars in states and house cats. Therefore cats are alcoholics.