552: Correlation
| Correlation |
 Title text: Correlation doesn't imply causation, but it does waggle its eyebrows suggestively and gesture furtively while mouthing 'look over there'. |
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Transcript
- [Cueball is talking to Megan.]
- Cueball: I used to think correlation implied causation.
- [Cueball lift his hand while continuing to talk to Megan.]
- Cueball: Then I took a statistics class. Now I don't.
- [Back to the same situation as the first frame.]
- Megan: Sounds like the class helped.
- Cueball: Well, maybe.
Trivia
This comic used to be available as a T-shirt in the xkcd store before it was shut down.
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It is stated that Cueball is doubting, due to his newly found sceptism, which I believe is incorrect.
By stating that "the class helped", Megan is inferring there is a causal relation between Cueball taking a statistics class and him no longer believing correlation implies causation. However, Cueball is replying "well maybe" to indicate there is only a correlation between them, showing he correctly understood the distinction. 173.245.53.104 15:29, 13 May 2014 (UTC)
Another interpretation that explains why the comic is funny is as follows. Cueball replies "well maybe" because he has learned not to infer causation from correlation. But it is also clear that the statistics class caused him to think this way. This pokes fun at a tendency to apply the principle that correlation does not imply causation even when there is direct evidence for causation. 173.245.52.127
The way I see it, it's a paradox. -- The Cat Lady (talk) 22:14, 16 August 2021 (UTC)
Technically, this comic, despite its title, isn't about correlation, but association. As Britannica states, "Although the terms correlation and association are often used interchangeably, correlation in a stricter sense refers to linear correlation, and association refers to any relationship between variables." https://www.britannica.com/topic/measure-of-association. (Also, the second comment should be stating that Megan is implying, not that she is inferring. She did infer, but in "stating," she is implying.) -- Az1950 (talk) 22:58, 11 March 2025 (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
I always just interpreted it as "Now I don't [take the statistics class anymore]." Am I just dumb or -- Augie279 (talk) 03:53, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
- I'm not calling you dumb, but I don't think that interpretation works. To put this abstractly, Cueball said, "I used to [do X]. Then I [did Y]. Now I don't." It would be a strained interpretation to have that mean that Cueball doesn't do Y anymore. Suppose Cueball had said, "I used to get my coffee from Starbucks. Then I learned to brew my own coffee. Now I don't." It would not be possible to take this to mean, "Now I don't learn to brew my own coffee anymore." --172.70.126.36 15:31, 9 May 2025 (UTC)
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