“Fishing is not a crime,” says a bumper sticker that’s frequently adorning the rear ends of run-down SUVs and trucks. It always makes me think, has anyone actually claimed that it is?
This essay by Lennart Finke in Asterisk Magazine is the same: It’s a full-throated defense of observational evidence, but has anyone ever claimed that this sort of analysis is worthless? A lot of my own work concerns genetic epidemiology. I may be biased, but I believe I’d have heard if there was a serious attack on the credibility of observational studies, and there isn’t. There are some concerns about their power to prove causality, but that’s valid and also not particularly controversial.
By the way, if you can, read Finke’s article on a large screen. I like the way Asterisk Magazine displays footnotes in a separate column to the right of the main text. It’s a superior layout for reference- and footnote-heavy texts.
Nehaveigur 