I see it more as given : independent :: result : dependent Wanting to travel a longer distance (cause) is going to lead to a longer time (effect). Wanting to travel for a longer period of time (cause) is going to lead to a greater distance (effect). - ThreadSky

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averypickford.bsky.social • 13 days ago

I see it more as
given : independent :: result : dependent

Wanting to travel a longer distance (cause) is going to lead to a longer time (effect).

Wanting to travel for a longer period of time (cause) is going to lead to a greater distance (effect).

Comments

averypickford.bsky.social•13 days ago

Might be worth going back to the fundamental question: why do we care about this independent/dependent distinction?

mathowitz.bsky.social•13 days ago

This is the bit I'm struggling with

Mathematically, out of context, I agree d= vs t=, both are dependent

But I dont like that, in a real world scenario, what we are asking for changes dependencies

We use math to model interactions of the world
The interactions of the world do not change with math

averypickford.bsky.social•13 days ago

To me, the interactions of the world include our setups of experiments, so they *do* change.

averypickford.bsky.social•13 days ago

Another maybe helpful perspective to think about is, in the context of statistics, how after finding an association between A and B you might design a study to test if A causes B vs a study to test if B causes A.

mathowitz.bsky.social•13 days ago

So taking this out of d=rt
Want to find the time a parabolic projectile is at a certain height. Is the height now the independent variable?

In my mind, given and find are completely separate entities than dependent and independent.

averypickford.bsky.social•13 days ago

I get the philosophical sense of time being a foundational variable (so it feels like it should always be independent), but our understanding of gravity was uncovered by treating distance as the independent variable while experimenting with dropping and rolling stuff.

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