The learned emphasize that correlation is not to be confused with causation, and thereby err in favor of dismissing correlation when it does actually signify causation.
The uneducated look for correlation to determine causation, and thereby err in favor of finding causation when correlation does not actually equate to causation.
Life used to be simple. If a “snake” bit you and you immediately became sick, you never had a problem remembering to avoid the type of snake that you encountered. Today, life is complex. We want to find the causation from those metaphorical snake bites and injuries we sustained throughout our lives. We don’t want to deal with the complexities of a massive economy with innumerable causes and effects. Instead, we look for correlation and see the parts that identify the snakes that once bit us and think that it is the cause of all of our problems, while the real snakes slither off to our great and inevitable detriment. To make matters worse, the experts ignore a myriad batch of other metaphorical snakes that are causing us wounds and mock our pleas that they rid them from our midst.
So here we lie, killing imaginary snakes, ignoring the real ones, and permitting other dangers to escape our notice.
Loren M. Lambert © November 15, 2016
The uneducated look for correlation to determine causation, and thereby err in favor of finding causation when correlation does not actually equate to causation.
Life used to be simple. If a “snake” bit you and you immediately became sick, you never had a problem remembering to avoid the type of snake that you encountered. Today, life is complex. We want to find the causation from those metaphorical snake bites and injuries we sustained throughout our lives. We don’t want to deal with the complexities of a massive economy with innumerable causes and effects. Instead, we look for correlation and see the parts that identify the snakes that once bit us and think that it is the cause of all of our problems, while the real snakes slither off to our great and inevitable detriment. To make matters worse, the experts ignore a myriad batch of other metaphorical snakes that are causing us wounds and mock our pleas that they rid them from our midst.
So here we lie, killing imaginary snakes, ignoring the real ones, and permitting other dangers to escape our notice.
Loren M. Lambert © November 15, 2016
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