“Ice cream sales causation drowning deaths.”
Usage Entry 1457 / 1605 60-second read
Correlation vs. Causation
Two variables moving together versus one causing the other.
The comparisoni
“Ice cream sales correlation drowning deaths — both rise in summer. CORRELATION = they move together. CAUSATION = one causes the other.”
The ruleii
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CORRELATION ≠ CAUSATION.
CORRELATION: two variables vary together (positive, negative, or zero). CAUSATION: one variable directly affects the other. The classic statistics caveat is that correlation does not imply causation — confounders, reverse causality, or chance can produce correlation without a causal link.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Statistics 101 mantra.