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TFA made the point that just showing the data that way leads people to think there's causation.

• benj111 8y ago
  And in just the same way that you shouldn't believe a article saying there's causation and just showing this graph as evidence. Then we shouldn't believe this article when they make a statement like that. Anyway it doesn't even make sense, causation means X causes Y, the very next question is which causes which? The graph has nothing to say on that. All the graph implies is that there is a correlation, which isn't controversial (scientifically, not socially speaking).
  • mirimir 8y ago
    You and I, and most HN readers, are a lot better at making those sorts of distinctions than the norm. And correlation between science spending and suicide? I'd say that they both correlate to population, so their relationship is just confounding. But then, I'm no statistician.