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No. If Factor X is correlated to Factor Y then you can use one as a predictor of the other, but you should never assume that one causes the other (it may, but correlation alone doesn't prove it).

Consider the correlation between proximity to a swampland and chances of contracting malaria. Do swamplands cause malaria? No. Malaria is propagated via mosquitoes which of course love to live in swamplands. So your proximity to a swampland is a useful predictor of your chances of contracting malaria, but doesn't cause it.

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Q: Does correlation prove causality
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