Changes

'''"Correlation is not causation"''' is the unofficial motto of [[modern science]]. When we observe that two things generally or always happen together, it is natural to wonder whether one may be [[causation|causing]] the other. A [[correlation]] between two variables does not always mean that one variable has caused a change in the other. Often a third variable is causing both, such as shark attacks and ice cream sales. These two factors may correlate, but they are not directly related. Rather, both go up each summer as people go swimming at ocean beaches.  

'''"Correlation is not causation"''' is one of the unofficial mottos of [[modern science]]. When we observe that two things generally or always happen together, it is natural to wonder whether one may be [[causation|causing]] the other. A [[correlation]] between two variables does not always mean that one variable has caused a change in the other. Often a third variable is causing both, such as shark attacks and ice cream sales. These two factors may correlate, but they are not directly related. Rather, both go up each summer as people go swimming at ocean beaches.  

It is a [[logical fallacy]] to assume that correlation implies causation. Correlation does not prove causality, but non-correlation proves non-causality. <ref>http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p36.htm#Message5980</ref>

It is a [[logical fallacy]] to assume that correlation implies causation. Correlation does not prove causality, but non-correlation proves non-causality. <ref>http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p36.htm#Message5980</ref>