Correlation and Causation

Causality is the area of statistics that is most commonly misused, and misinterpreted, by nonspecialists. Media sources, politicians and lobby groups often leap upon a perceived correlation, and use it to 'prove' their own beliefs. They fail to understand that, just because results show a correlation, there is no proof of an underlying causality. Many people assume that because a poll, or a statistic, contains many numbers, it must be scientific, and therefore correct.