Cause and Effect

 

Cropped by Ramani. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons 
Attribution 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Adeeb Atwan

A fast motorbike went down our street one morning, making a big noise. Ten minutes later, my mom dropped her coffee mug. Can you say that the cause of mom dropping the coffee cup was the motorbike’s noise? Or was it a case of mere coincidence?

This type of question was known long ago. An old Indian proverb talks about a crow and a palm tree. The crow came and sat on a palm tree and soon the tree fell down. Can we say that the crow’s sitting was the cause of the tree falling?  Or was it a case of mere coincidence?

Srinivasan Ramani 


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