B3TA fixes the worldMoon Monkey says: Turn into Jeremy Clarkson for a moment, and tell us about the things that are so obviously wrong with the world, and how they should be fixed. Extra points for ludicrous over-simplification, blatant mis-representation, and humourous knob-gags.
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Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Thu 22 Sep 2011, 12:53)
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The smoking causing lung cancer is a seperate issueIn this case, there were significant control groups who did not smoke, where the instances of lung cancer were several magnitudes lower. You can find examples of such studies (one of which was carried out between 1951 and 1994) which clearly show smokers have a higher rate of lung cancer. Causation can only be inferred by comparing one set of circumstances with another - in this case, those who smoke versus those who don't. To prove causation in your example, we would need a seperate timeline where the smoking ban didn't come into effect, to see the true impact.
If you want to truly try to understand it, I suggest reading David Hume's views on the matter - here's a handy link to start you off; plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume/#CauIndInfNegPha
(, Sun 25 Sep 2011, 23:32, 1 reply)
Fairpoint.
(, Mon 26 Sep 2011, 19:38, closed)
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