{"id":"ARG-008","name":"Distinguish correlation from causation","domain":"argument","layer":"sentence","strength":"hard_constraint","human_logic":"IF evidence is correlational AND the claim is causal, THEN add causal evidence, state a mechanism with tests, or change the claim to association ELSE retain.","when":{"all":[{"path":"evidence.design","operator":"eq","value":"correlational"},{"path":"claim.type","operator":"eq","value":"causal"}]},"then":[{"action":"repair","target":"claim","options":["add_causal_evidence","state_testable_mechanism","change_to_association"]}],"else":[{"action":"retain","target":"current_text","reason":"No triggering condition is present."}],"unless":[],"because":"Co-movement alone does not establish cause.","diagnostics":[],"examples":{},"source_ids":["BK-026","WEB-013"],"laka":{"smallest_sufficient_intervention":true,"primary_axes":["scope","depth","magnitude","reversibility"]},"requires_facts":["evidence.design","claim.type"],"tests":[{"id":"TST-013","rule_id":"ARG-008","before":"People who carry umbrellas are near rain; umbrellas cause rain.","after":"Umbrella use is associated with rain because people carry umbrellas when rain is likely.","reason":"The causal claim becomes an association with a plausible direction.","assertion":{"if":{"path":"output","operator":"eq","value":"Umbrella use is associated with rain because people carry umbrellas when rain is likely."},"then":"pass","else":"review"}}],"sources":[{"id":"BK-026","title":"Technical Communication","creator":"Mike Markel; Stuart A. Selber","domain":"technical_communication","type":"Book","note":"Audience, design, ethics, research, and technical genres.","url":null},{"id":"WEB-013","title":"Advertising Substantiation Policy Statement","creator":"U.S. Federal Trade Commission","domain":"claim_substantiation","type":"Regulatory policy","note":"Objective claims require a reasonable evidentiary basis before dissemination.","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/ftc-policy-statement-regarding-advertising-substantiation"}],"defined_in":{"file":"14-argument-nonfiction-rules.json","title":"Argument and Nonfiction Reasoning Rules","slug":"argument-nonfiction-rules"}}