By: kliuless
There Is About To Be A Very Significant Change In Headlines Around The World: The middle classes are revolting! previously :P
View ArticleBy: Artful Codger
There's an important and actually relevant topic somewhere near the top of this thread, yet it's devolved into a semantic wank. Nice. As discussed in this thread and the linked article"equality" is the...
View ArticleBy: Adam_S
This is really kind of a bummer, since there were a lot of neat ideas in this thread.
View ArticleBy: cj_
Agreed that it's an intellectually lazy remark meant to be dismissive of a claim you either can't or won't refute. Even if that claim is nonsense, it's not a particularly helpful thing to say.
View ArticleBy: yoink
I'm not sure it does. The quip is just a statement of fact. Causation != correlation is true simply because they are two different words. Well, different words can describe the same thing, of...
View ArticleBy: grobstein
I agree with most of your exegesis of the "correlation ≠ causation" quip. I just think it's disappointing that so many people want to rush into threads like this one to post a comment that's the...
View ArticleBy: cj_
saying that a correlation proves some third hidden cause is basically saying nothing at all. This is just what happens when you argue semantics into the ground. :)
View ArticleBy: cj_
The problem is that the quip misstates the error. I'm not sure it does. The quip is just a statement of fact. Causation != correlation is true simply because they are two different words. So, why would...
View ArticleBy: yoink
When someone says "correlation != causation" they are generally correcting someone who erroneously concluded A caused B without considering a third (C) factor -- not saying the third factor doesn't...
View ArticleBy: grobstein
That's an interesting point, cj. The problem is that the quip misstates the error. It suggests that you simply can't (ever) conclude causation from correlation, whereas in fact you can't conclude...
View ArticleBy: cj_
Also, if you want to argue semantics, I think it's worth noting that "correlation does not imply causation" and "correlation is not causation" (what the OP actually said) are two different things. The...
View ArticleBy: cj_
What a pointless argument over semantics. When someone says "correlation != causation" they are generally correcting someone who erroneously concluded A caused B without considering a third (C) factor...
View ArticleBy: jb
Athletes are more likely to be born earlier in the year - because children who are the older in their year group are more likely to excel compared to their year group, and then be selected for special...
View ArticleBy: 517
"I tried." Wasn't meant to be condescending to you. It was more along the lines of, "I've got other stuff that needs to be done today and I bet you do too. This little point isn't important enough for...
View ArticleBy: yoink
Perhaps rather than patronizingly sighing "I tried" you'd actually point out what you think is wrong in the argument.
View ArticleBy: yoink
I tried. If you mean you tried to consistently misunderstand a pretty straightforward argument, then I'd say you not only tried, you succeeded.
View ArticleBy: yoink
Now we're looking at things completely unrelated the constellation Aries, so saying that a correlation proves some third hidden cause is basically saying nothing at all. Where did the constellation...
View ArticleBy: 517
"Because of your subsequent paragraph?" No, because age, foot size, and IQ don't cause each other, they are just correlated. It comes down to a fine point but the point is still there. "But that's,...
View ArticleBy: yoink
I see that you fell right into that one. Because of your subsequent paragraph?: Just because something is strongly correlated with another event does not prove that those two events are related by a...
View ArticleBy: 517
"Is there something about your computer that renders the phrase "third hidden cause" invisible, or something?" I see that you fell right into that one.
View ArticleBy: yoink
Delmoi, correlation, in the case of IQ and foot size, has to do with age. As age increases so does foot size and IQ in a general sense. So, in this reading, age is the "third hidden cause" that Delmoi...
View ArticleBy: Durn Bronzefist
Ah, apologies. I've got it now. Inequality is bad for everyone, not just those who would be directly affected by lack of a social safety net. Yeah, extraordinary claims and extraordinary evidence,...
View ArticleBy: Durn Bronzefist
There is very little confirmation of such a relation outside the United States. You know, it seems fairly easy to see how this correlation might hold in specific instances and yet not in others. A...
View ArticleBy: ssg
Also to follow up googlys comment, the countries at the top of those graphs all have liberal policies for admitting immigrants - it would be interesting to replace the figures for income inequality...
View ArticleBy: aeschenkarnos
Social status is a god damn cancer of the human psyche. The analogy to cancer is a good one; cancer is also an extreme form of a necessary process.
View ArticleBy: Crabby Appleton
Social status is a god damn cancer of the human psyche. It's also what gets you laid, apparently. So I don't see it going away any time soon.
View ArticleBy: stavrosthewonderchicken
Like so many things, this thread, if not the study, suffers from a failure to define terms, and, as usual, means much heat but little light is created while people argue their meandering way further...
View ArticleBy: rkent
Hell, a whole chunk of popular hip-hop is guys bragging about how much they've got now they've made it big. That's actually kind of my point, though - hip-hop bragging focuses on relatively...
View ArticleBy: Civil_Disobedient
when the gap between rich and poor gets too large one of two things happens: either the wealth is redistributed by legislation or the poverty is redistributed by revolution. Sadly, most of history is...
View ArticleBy: 517
Delmoi, correlation, in the case of IQ and foot size, has to do with age. As age increases so does foot size and IQ in a general sense. However, an increase in foot size does not cause an increase in...
View ArticleBy: 0xdeadc0de
This seems like an especially poor explanation. As the rich get really super rich, like really extraordinarily rich, their consumption takes on dimensions that the lowest 20% of the economic spectrum...
View ArticleBy: delmoi
"Correlation does prove causation, it just doesn't tell you what direction it goes in (or if there is a third hidden cause)" No it really, really doesn't. IQ and foot size are strongly correlated but...
View ArticleBy: Adam_S
MarshallPoe : But I'm pretty sure that if the U.S. had fallen under the control of a government that believed (as suggested by this research) that inequality 'makes people unhappy' then we would still...
View ArticleBy: yoink
I'd love to know how the "you aren't draw any conclusions from correlation" crowd get through life. Yeah--it's such a great piece of half-smartness. Correlation may not equal causation, but when you...
View ArticleBy: rodgerd
I'm puzzled that that statement seems to have rocked so many people's worlds. I'm not. Too many people have taken the Internet smart-arse line and mistaken it for profound wisdom. I'd love to know how...
View ArticleBy: rodgerd
their consumption takes on dimensions that the lowest 20% of the economic spectrum are probably not even aware of, frankly. There are whole industries devoted to making sure we understand the stagering...
View ArticleBy: yoink
I'm not sure why Hume, of all people, would spin in his grave over the claim that correlation proves causation, phanx. Hume, after all, believed that we know nothing of causation at all other than...
View ArticleBy: aeschenkarnos
That economic inequality greater than x is undesirable does not imply that less inequality is always more desirable. Perfect economic equality is extremely undesirable; it's the economic equivalent of...
View ArticleBy: b1tr0t
Even on the most crude level - that of 'national effiency' - poverty has long been recognised to affect whole-society outcomes. Because of this, I would lean much more towards accepting the premise...
View ArticleBy: tybeet
How would someone making $10,000 a year even become aware of consumption like that? It goes beyond Cribs, all the way to... Cable TV, and the ubiquitous advertising and media that is modern life. Just...
View ArticleBy: kittens for breakfast
Which prompts a further thought: one of the signal contributions of the U.S. to the world is the popular acknowledgment that the prosperity of others need not be injurious to you, at least under the...
View ArticleBy: basicchannel
Anyone know if that's true? The California State University system has established three new campuses since 1984: San Marcos, Monterey Bay and Channel Islands.
View ArticleBy: rkent
From the article: What is it about unequal societies that causes the damage? Wilkinson believes the answer lies in the psycho-social areas of hierarchy and status. The greater the differential between...
View ArticleBy: Lanark
The figures look convincing at first, but what if the low rates for say mental health or drug convictions are simply a result of some countries having less effective diagnosis/detection rates. It is...
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