[quote=scaredyclassic]If I do x and y happens shortly thereafter it’s gonna be very hard 4 me to believe in my bones there’s no causation even if the science is overwhelming otherwise.

This local pattern spotting is how each of us had surviving ancestors…there was no time to wait for science[/quote]

One of my professors long ago used the following example to illustrate the problem with believing that two things coincident in time are causally related:

….[T]he greatest factor was mistaking correlation for causation. The classic example of this logic error: claiming that people going through the revolving doors of Macy’s department store power the escalator inside. The proof? When you look inside the store when the doors are locked, the escalator is no longer moving!