How do you describe something where
A does not cause B,
but
C causes A and B.
What would you call the relationship between C and A/B and the relationship between A and B? I'm sure there's some logical terminology for this.
Thanks.
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Do you mean that since c causes a and b, there might be a confusion among the observers that 'a' has some role to play in causing 'b'?– Jony AgarwalDec 27, 2015 at 15:24
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@JonyAgarwal yes exactly.– HarryDec 27, 2015 at 16:16
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You should try this question in MathOverflow or Theoretical Computer Science SE sites!– BiscuitBoyDec 27, 2015 at 16:32
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2 Answers
In phsycology we call variables that correlate covariants, thus saying they vary together but not necessarily cause each other.
From M-W:
Covariant: varying with something else so as to preserve certain mathematical interrelations
This doesn't necessarily mean there's a common cause to both of them (c is causing both a and b), but it conveys the idea that, even though a and b are related, they aren't necessarily a cause for one another.
Also see Third-cause fallacy
Another word is confounded, although this one is pretty much restricted to Statistics and may have negative connotations. From the wikipedia:
"We say that X and Y are confounded by some other variable Z whenever Z is a cause of both X and Y."
We could call the relation between A and B to be coincidental/correlated and the one between C and A/B to be causal relationship. I would suggest you to look into Correlation does not imply causation to not just get some more insight into the subject matter but also the relationship label.
answered Dec 27, 2015 at 16:55
