9 ms·
> They can't claim causation if they don't understand the underlying reason for the change. That's not how science works. Sorry but I had to nitpick here. This
by spupe 4y ago
> They can't claim causation if they don't understand the underlying reason for the change. That's not how science works.
Sorry but I had to nitpick here. This is exactly how science works. We first observe things that we cannot explain, and we can definitely infer causation without a complete mechanism or even a proper theory for it.
- sweetdreamerit 4y agoIt's a little more nuanced. Causation can be inferred in an experimental design. If the researchers can manipulate the independent variable (the vaccine) using an experimental and a placebo group, and then they can measure a statistically (and clinically) significant difference, then we can assume that this is not just correlation.