Strengthening/weakening the correlation-causation

[wj097]

Simple but never can grasp question.

Can you strengthen or weaken a correlation-causation relationship by supplying additional similar correlation. In PT 29 S2 Q11 it seems it does, in PT 24 s2 Q18 it doesn't.

My only answer is it does unless there is better answer choice that directly mentions some sort of causation (e.g., ruling out reverse causation, etc)

Thx

[noah]

Simple but never can grasp question.

Can you strengthen or weaken a correlation-causation relationship by supplying additional similar correlation. In PT 29 S2 Q11 it seems it does, in PT 24 s2 Q18 it doesn't.

My only answer is it does unless there is better answer choice that directly mentions some sort of causation (e.g., ruling out reverse causation, etc)

Thx

You could weaken a correlation pretending to be a causation by showing that something else causes one of the pieces to occur, or that one of the pieces occurs without the other. And, you can strengthen a correlation by showing more examples of the two pieces occurring together, though often you'll find it's more often supported by showing that something else is not the cause. You'll find some more discussions of causation/correlation here: http://www.manhattanlsat.com/forums/general-questions-lr-f75.html

For the dolphin argument, we get another example of the hand signal followed by a complex behavior. Yeah, the hand signal is followed by this amazing stuff.

For the savings argument, we hear that something else is not causing it. Ah! We have to be sure it's not caused by something else.

I think you might find it profitable to think about these two questions as arguments that tell us about a phenomenon, and then tell us it must be because of X. We could see each answer as dealing with the possibility of another explanation. For the dolphin argument, couldn't it be that it's just those two behaviors, and they're not showing some complex stuff, but a generic act that they perform all the time for no good reason? No, the answer suggests, the hand signal leads to complex stuff, really, it does. And for the savings argument, the answer defends the argument from some other reason -- namely, that people aren't spending money, they're using it for some other non-savings use.

BTW, on our forums, we refer to the actual section #, not the numbering of the LR sections alone - so the questions you're referring to, here, are referred to as PT24 S#, Q18 & PT29, S4, Q11.