Correlation: Difference between revisions

If one can derive significance from a purely statistical correlation without a deeper mechanical theory of the universe that might tell us ''why'', we are well on our way to an [[Artificial intelligence|artificially intelligent]] future where [[Chatbot|robot]]s can wipe elderly arses, [[Rumours of our demise are greatly exaggerated - technology article|all bankers are redundant]] (good, right?), [[A World Without Work: Technology, Automation, and How We Should Respond - Book Review|so is everyone else]] (''not'' so good?) and it is only a matter of time before Skynet becomes self-aware and starts hunting down random skater kids from the 1990s.

But, in some cases you ''can'' derive a significance; in some cases you ''can’t''<ref>There are whole websites devoted to spurious correlations. Like, well, http://www.spuriouscorrelations.com.</ref> but — irony upcoming — without a sophisticated theory of ''causality'', it will be hard to tell them apart. That is to say, a bare [[correlation]] won’t tell you whether there is a causal arrow at all, much less — if there is — which way it flows.