h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi there, Z. Nice piece of work, but I have one quibble about the toasties and baldness. You omit to mention that it might be the baldness that causes the toastie eating. Maybe eating them increases the flow of warm blood to a cold scalp!

Yet again, there might be an unconsidered third factor that causes both toastie eating and baldness. If this is a frequent factor in the population studied, a link is to be expected, although the two things mentioned are not directly causally related.

Cheers, toxx.

Quite that would indeed have been a confounding factor. Did I mention that? I think I need in the section on Cohort studies (as these are the ones vunerable)

Z. You mentioned confounding variables, but not by that name specifically. I got a PhD (cognitive science/psychology) by correcting such variables and then otherwise replicating the experiment. Guess what, the confounding variable was responsible for the differences!

For me, your example is one of interpretation of results. I consider that an independent experimental variable is the only one that can be confounding. Is that true of the 'toastie and baldness' example. Not as you describe it, I think.

toxx

I see your point, I think perhaps I over simplfied it somewhat. After all you have a PhD and I don't! (so you win! )

No, Z. It ain't a competition and I think you pitched it consistently for the anticipated audience. Just the toasties example that omitted a touch of interpretation. I think it's an important point to introduce early. Helps with criticism as well as interpretation. I'm a philospher too so I would think that maybe. I learned some things from your piece. I'm not knocking it.

toxx