Causation and Correlation

I find correlation more interesting than causation. I take correlation to mean: two things are correlated to the extent that two phenomenon occurr at the same time. Like age and wealth. Most people get wealthier as they get older. One does not caus the other. They may both be "caused" by an underlying cause.

Causation is tough. One thing is caused by another if the first thing wouldn't have happened with out the second thing happening. Take away the second thing and the first thing wouldn't happened.

For example a commonplace is that slavery is a cause of the civil war. It's true that slavery and the civil war coexisted. Would we have had the civil war without slavery? A matter for historical debate.

Or the rise of Hitler caused WWII. It might have happened anway but differently.