By Ana-Marija Dolaskie — Oct 15, 2025
As a video producer with over a decade of experience collaborating with the writers at ACSH, I’ve gained invaluable insights into the world of science communication. The number one lesson I’ve learned is a simple principle that underscores the importance of rigorous evidence over assumptions in scientific inquiry. Take a look.
When two things happen together, like ice cream sales and sunburns both rising in summer, it’s tempting to think one causes the other. But correlation just shows a relationship, not a cause. A confounding variable, like hot weather, is likely what’s driving both. Or take coffee drinking and heart disease: they might correlate, but does coffee cause heart issues, or do confounding variables like stress play a role?
To prove causation, we need controlled experiments, not just patterns. Source here.
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