• 5318008@lemmy.ml
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    38 minutes ago

    It matters enormously.

    Not for the purpose of establishing whether there is a negative correlation between smoking and life expectancy.

    Also that comic is saying that adding a third variable does not always make the model better. Also p-hacking is a thing. It’s the opposite of what you’re trying to establish, which is the existence of a third variable which improves the model. And once again, I will say that if you find two correlated variables confusing, adding a third variable is NOT going to help you.