A few links on Correlation and Causation, etc...

[HuckleB]

Evidence in Medicine: Correlation and Causation
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/evidence-in-medicine-correlation-and-causation/

Correlation, Causation, Pseudo-Science
http://crispian-jago.blogspot.com/2009/08/correlation-causation-pseudo-medicine.html

Causation and Hill’s Criteria
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/causation-and-hills-criteria/

I'm sure there are better pieces out there, but I'm not spending my entire morning on this. It just seems like this is needed around here right now. Yeah, I know. It's just my opinion.

:)

[xchrom]

1. Awesome. nt

[bemildred]

2. Nice.

The main point, to my way of thinking, is that strong correlation does imply some causative effect, that some factor is affecting probable outcomes in some way. What it does not do, at all, is tell you what the causative factor(s) at work IS/ARE, it does not disentangle the network of causation and point a finger at the proper instrumental factor that one ought to control to change the outcome. That is a much tougher project, and frequently there REALLY is no one specific answer.