4 ms·

Say it with me: Correlation ≠ Causality

• rmc 16y ago
  Correct. However there are people who will say there is no correlation between degree and salary. This proves otherwise.
  • DavidSJ 16y ago
    Who says that?
    • rmc 16y ago
      Who says that? The original post has some quotes that say that, e.g.: "A degree in English is just as valuable as a degree in Biology — it teaches you critical thinking!"
      • DavidSJ 16y ago
        That quote asserts a lack of causality, not a lack of causation.
• jazzhands 16y ago
  I'll add to this. When A and B are correlated, there are only three possibilities regarding causality (which may work in combination): 1. A causes B 2. B causes A 3. C causes both A and B If we apply this where A is majoring in computer science and B is high earnings, which answers are true? #2 isn't, obviously. #1 is plausible, since perhaps employers are impressed by a computer science degree. But I think #3 is the most significant, where C is a strong desire to be a software professional. Very few people complete a degree in computer science unless they really want to work with software. We all know English majors, psych majors, and history majors who became high-earning software engineers. Those are the people who had C (the desire to work with software) but not A (computer science degree). C is the thing that caused them to have B.
  • 3pt14159 16y ago
    Assuming that you have a sufficiently large sample set. :) The key here, of course, is that we don't know what C is. It could be that high IQ causes high wealth, regardless of degree. High IQ could also be a prerequisite of completing a CS degree, so necessarily the two correlate. My point is that you know what A is, and you know what B is, but without measurement, you can't know what C is.