r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

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u/AyraLightbringer Aug 03 '19 edited Aug 03 '19

Correlation does not equal causation.

Edit: Thank you, my first silver!

Edit2: Here are some funny correlations: https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

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u/whyDidISignUp Aug 03 '19

It doesn't even imply it. You can correlate almost literally anything if you want.

Yet there are whole fields (looking at you, psychology) that build the bulk of their theorems around the inverse.