Judea Pearl: students should learn causation before statistics
yudapearl · x · 2026-09-20
Turing Award winner Judea Pearl argues that starting quantitative education with statistics is a grave mistake with harmful consequences. Quoting a UBC causal inference instructor on stats-trained students lacking any concept of an estimand, he advocates teaching causation first to build a scientific view of reality, with statistics only later as a decorative tool.
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