In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,
Paige Miller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>But the whole idea that you can predict the performance of individuals
>(or teams) based upon national statistics such as GDP and population
>even though there may be correlations. I doubt that there is a causal
>connection.
?? Of course, based just on the data, it would be wrong to infer
causation from correlation. But adding in our common-sense knowledge,
it's a certainty that population and GDP are causally related to the
number of medals won. Tuvalu (populaton 10,600) is never going to win
50 medals. Although it's true that some part of the correlation might
be due to non-causal factors - eg, religion might influence birth
rate, and hence population, and also influence motivation to
participate in athletic contests.
Radford Neal
=================================================================
Instructions for joining and leaving this list and remarks about
the problem of INAPPROPRIATE MESSAGES are available at
http://jse.stat.ncsu.edu/
=================================================================
