Re: Cohen's Fallacy

["Rad health" <healthrad@HOTMAIL.COM>]

There is a huge inverse correlation in Cohen's county level data between 

smoking and radon.  It is also likely correlated within the county level 

with such other factors as socioeconomic level.  Cohen can not account for 

these within county correlations for even one county and the correlations 

are not linear among counties.



Don



>From: RuthWeiner@aol.com

>To: healthrad@hotmail.com, radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

>Subject: Re: Cohen's Fallacy

>Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2002 16:11:17 EST

>

>In a message dated 1/27/02 10:22:58 AM Mountain Standard Time,

>healthrad@HOTMAIL.COM writes:

>

>

> > smoking status and residential radon are uncorrelated within each

> > county (which seems unlikely),

>

>Now maybe I am stupid, but what these authors seem to be saying is that

>residential radon and smoking status are correlated; e.g., higher radon

>levels occur in houses where there are smokers.  Did they mean to say that

>the EFFECT of smoking and residential radon are synergistic?  Or did they

>really mean what they said, which can only be interpreted that smokers get

>some radon exposure from smoking?

>

>Given the imprecision of  the language, I am not sure what conclusions can 

>be

>drawn.

>

>

>Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.

>ruthweiner@aol.com





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