Save
Tweet
Share
Aeon Video has a monthly newsletter!
Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
Correlations can’t imply causation? Not so fast. A primer on causal networks
The old statistics axiom that correlation doesn’t imply causation is true, but causation can be drawn from more than one correlation. A clever and impressively efficient explainer, this short animation from MinutePhysics clears up a common maths misconception by showing how the concept of causal networks can be used to draw a straight line between correlations and causation via a process of elimination.
Video by MinutePhysics
Aeon is not-for-profit and free for everyone
Make a donationGet Aeon straight to your inbox
Join our newsletter
video
Physics
Water, salt and music form a mesmerising visualisation of sound waves
7 minutes
video
Film and visual culture
A Palme d’Or-winning animation toys with the way our eyes perceive light
5 minutes
video
Knowledge
What can a Kurosawa classic tell us about reality, knowledge and truth?
5 minutes
video
Biology
Witness the majesty of moths taking flight at 6,000 frames per second
5 minutes
video
Astronomy
Jocelyn Bell discovered pulsars. The Nobel Prize went to her supervisor
16 minutes
video
Physics
In this 1975 lecture, the maglev train’s inventor deconstructs his ingenious design
19 minutes
video
Meaning and the good life
To know or not to know? Lillian weighs the costs of a life-changing genetic test
10 minutes
video
Chemistry
Liquid experiments show how beautiful things can happen when chemicals meet
6 minutes
video
Philosophy of mind
Caring for the vulnerable opens gateways to our richest, deepest brain states
7 minutes