I was not vulnerable to this potential confusion, since my internal definition of “causes” is that the result is subject to intervention at the cause point.
If I decide to not mow my lawn:
A) ice cream sales don’t change, even though lawnmower usage predicts Ice Cream sales (correlation)
B) my grass doesn’t get taller, even though grass height is partially explained by lawnmower usage
C) but I won’t have a bunch of grass clippings, because mowing causes grass clippings.
I was not vulnerable to this potential confusion, since my internal definition of “causes” is that the result is subject to intervention at the cause point. If I decide to not mow my lawn: A) ice cream sales don’t change, even though lawnmower usage predicts Ice Cream sales (correlation) B) my grass doesn’t get taller, even though grass height is partially explained by lawnmower usage C) but I won’t have a bunch of grass clippings, because mowing causes grass clippings.