"Correlation is not Causation"

This well-known maxim has been around for many years and has led to a near-total restriction on casual dialogue when is comes to how we talk about cause and effect.

But is this really the case?

'The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect' written by Judea Pearl and Dana Mackenzie cuts through a century of confusion and established thinking surround causality and puts it on a firm scientific basis, explaining causal thinking in a way that allows us to better understand why things happen the way they do and also explores what might have happened if circumstances had been different.

Dana McKenzie joins Jonathan to discuss.