From the course: Learning Data Science
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Correlation does not imply causation
From the course: Learning Data Science
Correlation does not imply causation
- Correlation will help you see relationships that you might not otherwise see. But there's a flip side. You'll have to see whether the correlation caused the behavior you're seeing. Was the correlation the cause of the change? As a rule, correlation doesn't imply causation. A relationship between two things could be influenced by a third factor that you haven't considered in your analysis. It's a big challenge for data science teams to figure out causality. You don't want to create relationships that don't exist. Think of it this way. I grew up in a colder area of the United States. When my parents got older, they moved to sunny Florida. They now live happily in their retirement community. Our family goes down to visit a few times a year. Yet statistically, their community is one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Every time we visit, there are people who are being hospitalized or worse. There's a strong correlation between their community and death or severe injury. It's far…
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