Deterministic in this context* refers to the inherent error in conceiving of correlation questions as a limited set of discrete possibilities. For example, giv

Deterministic in this context* refers to the inherent error in conceiving of correlation questions as a limited set of discrete possibilities. For example, given that event A correlates well with B one is likely to ask: 1) Does A cause B? 2) Does B cause A? 3) Does some unknown cause A and B? Framing the possibilities in this way neglects interactions in which all possibilities are true to some degree. The author argues that all possibilities being true to some non-zero degree (A causes B and B causes A and an unknown causes both A and B) should be the more common expectation in natural systems. Therefor, framing problems in a way that suggests there are clear exclusions i.e. determinations, leads to cognitive bias and premature conclusions. *As apposed the the common usage of deterministic in computer science where a process is said to be deterministic if every execution with identical inputs produces the same result.