Consistent with

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Consistent with
/kənˈsɪstᵊnt wɪð/ (n.)
A phrase which sounds more damning that it has any right to be. “Consistency” is an attestation of correlation that is often taken by people who should know better, to be one of causation.

Expert evidence that, for example, “blotched, mottled skin is consistent with air embolus” is of little “probative value” unless blotched, mottled skin is not consistent with any other condition that might be prevalent or, for that matter, any non-medical explanation.

If the evidence is also “consistent with” a range of other common, frequently observed alternatives as well as the extremely rare and damning one that propels the prosecution case, then that base rate is important: the prior probability that this is a case of air embolus remains low.

See also

• Prosecutor’s tunnel vision
• Direct evidence
• Circumstantial evidence