Why is correlation not causal

In the right graph, we assume that event a and event b are independent of each other for that they have no arrows in.People often use these words interchangeably without knowing the fundamental logic behind them.There are many reasons why correlation does not imply causation:On the other hand, if there is a causal relationship between two variables, they must be correlated.We will use collider to show why correlation does not lead to causation.A correlation between variables, however, does not automatically mean that the change in one variable is the cause of the change in the values of the other variable.

Researchers studying suicide across genders have to be aware that suicidal men and women often use different methods, so the success of their outcomes vary widely.There is a causal relationship between the two events.The first reason why correlation may not equal causation is that there is some third variable (z) that affects both x and y at the same time, making x and y move together.Correlation doesn't mean causality or in our example, frozen dessert isn't causing the death of individuals.A strong correlation might indicate causality, but there could easily be other explanations:The third variable and directionality problems are two main reasons why correlation isn't causation.

The first event is called the cause and the second event is called the effect.The third variable problem means that a confounding variable affects both variables to make them seem causally related when they are not.The problem arises when people attribute causation to correlation.