Correlation or Causation?
I just saw this interesting series of charts over on Business Week (click image to view full-size). It just goes to show that you really can force data to give you the answers you want. All you need is one leading question, and 2 simple charts, and voila you can pretty much prove anything.
Correlation may not imply causation, but it sure can help us insinuate it.
It’s pretty scary really… this simple exercise shows humorous examples of how this technique can be used to manipulate data, but how often is it used in the media or political campaigns to confuse or brainwash? A truly worrying example of how data can be used for evil.
