Talk:552: Correlation

2025-05-09T15:31:43Z

172.70.126.36: comment

It is stated that Cueball is doubting, due to his newly found sceptism, which I believe is incorrect.

By stating that "the class helped", Megan is inferring there is a causal relation between Cueball taking a statistics class and him no longer believing correlation implies causation. However, Cueball is replying "well maybe" to indicate there is only a correlation between them, showing he correctly understood the distinction.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.104|173.245.53.104]] 15:29, 13 May 2014 (UTC)

Another interpretation that explains why the comic is funny is as follows. Cueball replies "well maybe" because he has learned not to infer causation from correlation. But it is also clear that the statistics class caused him to think this way. This pokes fun at a tendency to apply the principle that correlation does not imply causation even when there is direct evidence for causation.
[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.127|173.245.52.127]]

The way I see it, it's a paradox. [[User:The Cat Lady|-- The Cat Lady]] ([[User talk:The Cat Lady|talk]]) 22:14, 16 August 2021 (UTC)

Technically, this comic, despite its title, isn't about correlation, but association. As Britannica states, "Although the terms correlation and association are often used interchangeably, correlation in a stricter sense refers to linear correlation, and association refers to any relationship between variables." https://www.britannica.com/topic/measure-of-association. (Also, the second comment should be stating that Megan is implying, not that she is inferring. She did infer, but in "stating," she is implying.) {{unsigned|Az1950|22:58, 11 March 2025}}

I always just interpreted it as "Now I don't [take the statistics class anymore]." Am I just dumb or [[User:Augie279|-- Augie279]] ([[User talk:Augie279|talk]]) 03:53, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
*I'm not calling you dumb, but I don't think that interpretation works. To put this abstractly, Cueball said, "I used to [do X]. Then I [did Y]. Now I don't." It would be a strained interpretation to have that mean that Cueball doesn't do Y anymore. Suppose Cueball had said, "I used to get my coffee from Starbucks. Then I learned to brew my own coffee. Now I don't." It would not be possible to take this to mean, "Now I don't '''learn to''' brew my own coffee anymore." --[[Special:Contributions/172.70.126.36|172.70.126.36]] 15:31, 9 May 2025 (UTC)

3046: Stromatolites

2025-02-04T05:03:04Z

172.70.126.36: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 3046
| date = February 3, 2025
| title = Stromatolites
| image = stromatolites_2x.png
| imagesize = 581x505px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If only my ancestors had been fortunate enough to marry into the branch of the bacteria family that could photosynthesize, like all my little green cousins here.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by an EXTREMELY GREAT NIBLING OF A STROMATOLITE - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{w|Stromatolites}} are layered sedimentary formations created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms that produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other rocky materials to form mineral "microbial mats". Some fossil stromatolites in Australia from 3.48 billion years ago form the oldest undisputed evidence of life on Earth, though people have also claimed {{w|Earliest known life forms|other, older evidence}} for this record.

In the comic, Beret Guy explains how he went on a family tree site. These services allow the user to input the names and other information of family members and cross reference with various documents. These services typically do not allow the user to track their familial history prior to written records{{citation needed}} (although some of these services also provide genetic sequencing which allows for more information to be acquired, but this isn't accurate enough to track on a wide scale individual people who lived before such technology existed). Beret Guy claims that he kept clicking back until he found an ancestor from "a few billion years back".

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Cueball and Beret Guy, both shown in silhouette, walk up a hill.]

:[They continue walking up the grassy hill, now shown in normal light.]
:Beret Guy: I learned something today.
:Beret Guy: I went on one of those family tree sites and kept clicking back, and it turns out I'm related to stromatolites!

:[Closeup on Cueball.]
:Cueball: The bacterial mats?
:Beret Guy [off-panel]: Yeah! A few billion years back, on my mitochondria's side.

:[Cueball and Beret Guy stand facing each other.]
:Beret Guy: My Archaean ancestors absorbed some bacteria that were cousins of stromatolites. That's how I got mitochondria.
:Beret Guy: Cell nuclei, too.

:[Cueball is standing. Beret Guy is sitting down.]
:Cueball: I think there are still living stromatolites. You could get in touch.
:Beret Guy: Nah, they're probably busy. I don't want to bother them.

:[Cueball is sitting and Beret Guy is lying down, both shown in silhouette.]
:Cueball: So what ''are'' you going to do with this knowledge? Nothing?
:Beret Guy: Lying on a hill in the warm sun is an old family tradition.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:552: Correlation

3046: Stromatolites