To: spiral3 who wrote (4881 ) 5/5/2009 11:26:23 PM From: Joe NYC Read Replies (1) | Respond to Except that your example did not show 100% correlation and you did not show that you were aware of this. Maybe you were thinking that in your mind, but you did not show it, simply did not make the contents of your mind apparent, with the level of clarity you perceive. This kind of thing can lead to problems when it comes into contact with the outside world. We are not mind readers, you have to spell it out better. Anyway this is a diversion, as the owner of the aforementioned content you're entitled to the last word. "Since we know that every time there is a fire in NYC, a fire truck is at the scene" Message 25614113 Again a binary position. What about associations that are not 100% or very weak. I think that causation and association are important factors, you seem to want to wage a war on the later, I say ignore them at your peril. It reminds me of the possible role of infection in heart disease that E. Charters brought up on the other thread. We have seen a meaningful association between gum disease and heart disease. Does gum disease cause heart disease, I don’t think it’s been scientifically proven thus far that it does, but there is a strong association. Perhaps those with gum disease are more likely to be following unhealthier lifestyles in the first place, making causative determination very difficult for some scientists, or rather, the relationship is reciprocal. This does not mean that the info we have from the science so far, is useless, let alone inconsequential. In my view it’s irrelevant that science has not proved “causation” in this instance, I believe such phenomena co-arise or are dependently originated, and the pre-sense, or presence of meaningful association means taking preventative measures where possible.
