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  • correlation =/= causation

    Pixar doesn't imply that widespread obesity is the cause of environmental decay. They're just correlated.The social satire in Wall E, boiled down, is a stark warning about alienating effects of technology and our increasing dependence on it. We see people as pure consumers of technology: hovering on floating beds playing videogames, video ...
    Posted to Green Room by SBA_JKred on July 11, 2008

  • Methane? CO2? H2O? Try Sunspots!

    I slap my forehead every time someone hauls out charts comparing the human production of CO2 with the recent trend in global warming. They just don't get it: Correlation does NOT imply causation, a fact the entire US medical community got handed to them a few years back when they noticed a correlation between hormone replacement therapy (HRT) ...
    Posted to The Green Lantern by swamper777 on February 9, 2008

  • You're more wrong than Cosby

    So you guys have a twist on this. OK, I'm sure that based on your methodology you are right. Now - how does this serve the black community? Bill Cosby is trying to help lower income black families understand some of the mechanics of their situation. Your study results imply that it is OK to feel good if you forgoe some necessities such ...
    Posted to The Dismal Science by shadow32 on January 12, 2008

  • A Slate editor solves the mysteries of headline writing.

    I think it's safe to say that those of us who saw the caption ''The Myth of the Asian Fetish'' on the front page (which will be gone in a few days or less) have been had. It's worth noting here that titles in Slate often (always?) contain puns, offensive references, or misleading nonsense designed to draw you in rather than accurately describe ...
    Posted to The Dismal Science by haulinsacs on November 9, 2007

  • Opinions on Anti-Procreation Party

    What are people's opinions on this idea? I posted this before, but I just want to see if anyone else wants to weigh in on this: Existence is hell. Human existence is inherently suffering. Before we even experience the harms of the world (such as sickness, natural disasters, other people's conflicting interests and criticisms, pains of all sorts, ...
    Posted to Human Nature by schopenhauer on October 18, 2007

  • Rural Tv: Correlation does not mean causation

    I wish that this article had explained more why TV is a cause of changing attitudes rather than a simultaneous result of some other factor. It's possible that a higher income leads to both cable TV and changing attitudes. I'm sure that the authors addressed this in the their paper, but it doesn't translate here.
    Posted to The Dismal Science by la_serenissima on August 22, 2007

  • Television = root of obesity

    TV is worthless, let me explain. The average number of TVs in the typical American household has recently surpassed the number of occupants in that household. In addition, the average amount of time each American spends watching TV is 4hr35min (1). Incidentally, the average marathon time for men has risen to 4hr20min, and a staggering (sorry ...
    Posted to Human Nature by dmcgovern on August 3, 2007