CAUSALITY VS CAUSATION PRO

If an event causes another, it is certainly correlated with another as is evident from this example. In real life, one event can cause another event, as in lung cancer occurring due to smoking. In theory, it is easy to differentiate, but in reality it may not be so simple. In scientific and health studies, the problem of confusion between correlation and causation is frequently observed. What is Causation?Ĭausation highlights that there exists a causal relationship between two things. Through this article let us attempt to gain a clear understanding of the difference between the two.

CAUSALITY VS CAUSATION PRO

This fallacy or tendency is referred to as non-causa pro causa in Latin, or simply non-cause for the cause. It’s a fallacy to assume that just because two events are correlated, they tend to cause each other also. This is a problem known as the difference between causation and correlation. This is however not the case in most of the cases. We humans by nature are inclined to assume that if two events are correlated, they are also connected casually. Sometimes, cause and effect are closely related, but often they are not, and this is where the problem begins. Finding the real cause of a phenomenon is difficult as any scientist would tell you. “We won our baseball game when I was wearing these socks, so it must be the lucky socks that caused our win.Key Difference – Causation vs CorrelationĬausation and Correlation are terms frequently used in scientific and health studies, between which some difference can be identified. Therefore getting in the bath will lead to the phone ringing.” “When I got in the bath tub, the phone rang. It’s easy to see the problem with that logic in these examples: Therefore the trip took longer because fewer people got on the ferry. The official name for this type of logical fallacy is “Cum hoc ergo propter hoc,” or “with this, therefore because of this.” According to my daughter’s reasoning, after fewer people got on the ferry, the trip took longer. But the thing is, sometimes in science correlation is all you’ve got. This phrase is so well known, that even people who don’t know anything about statistics often know this to be true. My 5-year-old had fallen prey to a classic statistical fallacy: correlation is not causation. “Maybe when there are less people, the boat goes slow but when there are more people the boat goes faster.”Īll the facts seemed to support her, and while this could be possible, I’ll hope you’ll agree that it wasn’t the most likely explanation. My 5-year old, wondering why the crossing was going to take longer on the way back, came up with this hypothesis: On the way back from France to England, there was hardly anyone on the ferry, and the captain announced that the crossing would take 95 minutes. On the way from England to France, the ferry was extremely crowded, and the crossing took about 75 minutes. Scientific American and Quick & Dirty Tips are both Macmillan companies.Ī few weeks ago, our family took a ferry across the English Channel. Scientific American presents Everyday Einstein by Quick & Dirty Tips.

Causality vs causation