Once Again with Feeling: Correlation Does Not Equal Causation

By Robert Farago

Correlation (a connection between two or more things) does not equal causation (cause and effect). For example, per capita cheese consumption correlates closely with the number of people who died by becoming tangled in their bedsheets. It does not necessarily follow that eating cheese in bed increases the risk of becoming tangled in your bedclothes and dying. So when you read this [via wfmj.com] — “American women living in states with high rates of gun ownership are more likely to be shot and killed by someone they know than those residing in states with fewer firearms” — it’s important to skip down a bunch of paragraphs and read this . . .

[Boston University School of Community Health Services professor Michael] Siegel acknowledged that the study doesn’t establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between greater gun ownership and women’s murders. Other factors may influence the association, he said.

Which kinda makes you wonder why wfmj.com — and the resolutely anti-gun Journal of Violence and Gender — bothered with this “story” in the first place. Any guesses?

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Source:: Truth About Guns