Frank, 

 

Is my ham sandwich example apt, or not?

 

N

 

Nick Thompson

 <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]

 <https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/> 
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/

 

From: Friam <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Frank Wimberly
Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 11:38 AM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] 
PM-2017-MethodologicalBehaviorismCausalChainsandCausalForks(1).pdf

 

"Screening off" is an informal term of art in causal reasoning.  If A,B, and C 
are random variables, the Causal Markov Condition asserts that if A causes B 
and B causes C then knowing the value of A provides no information about the 
probability density of C over knowing the value of B.

 

It is also said that B screens off the causal effect of A on C.

 

I hope that helps,

 

Frank

---
Frank C. Wimberly
140 Calle Ojo Feliz, 
Santa Fe, NM 87505

505 670-9918
Santa Fe, NM

 

On Wed, Feb 10, 2021, 10:07 AM <[email protected] 
<mailto:[email protected]> > wrote:

Hi, All, 

 

If any of you had any spare brain time, I am interested in  the attached VERY 
SHORT 
<https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:a6e9c10b-06dc-4ea1-8ffa-d450df62489a>
  article:

 

I am struggling here with the idea of "screening off".  Does it mean more or 
less than the following:  Granted that, If I had ham, and I had eggs, I would 
have ham and eggs, having eggs screens off having ham from having ham and eggs? 
  Screening off seems a very odd metaphor.  Is it a term of art in logic?

 

Also, a general problem I have with causality:  My understanding of causality 
is that event A can cause event B  if and only if A is independently known from 
B (an event cannot cause itself) AND occurs prior to B  Now imagine  two 
perfectly meshed gears, such that motion in one is instantly conveyed to the 
other.  I turn gear A and gear B turns.  Has the motion in A caused the turning 
of B or has my turning of A caused the motion of B?  With the gears, this may 
just seem like a fussy “in the limit” sort of question, but there seem to be 
other phenomena where it’s worth asking.  Does the discharge of potential along 
the ionized (?) path CAUSE the lightning?

 

I realize that the rest of you have spouses, dogs, cats, hobbies, and day jobs, 
but any off hand thoughts you have on these matters would be greatly 
appreciated. 

 

Nick 

 

You can view 
"PM-2017-MethodologicalBehaviorismCausalChainsandCausalForks(1).pdf" at: 

https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:a6e9c10b-06dc-4ea1-8ffa-d450df62489a

 

________________

Sent with Adobe Document Cloud. Click on the link above to access the file 
online. No sign up or installation of Acrobat is required to access.

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