We had Dennis the Menace out for the World Cup Semi Final last night because Germany were playing in that kit. We found that when Dennis was stood next to the screen, Germany couldn't stop scoring. Someone moved him out of the way and the score stayed at 5-0 until we moved him back to the position shown. Then Germany scored two more. This is an example of a correlation. Putting Dennis next to the screen correlates with goals being scored. It is a scientific thing to notice patterns like this. But is this scientific? It can only be scientific if we can identify a CAUSAL LINK. In other words, if we can come up with a mechanism through which the position of a Dennis the Menace toy in northern England could influence the performance of the German football team in Brazil. There is no known link. Dennis was not the CAUSE. It's like the known correlation between the ability to read and shoe size in primary school. Big feet don't make you a better reader but older children will be better readers and their feet will have grown.
