

Old men who use computers less likely to get dementia - lutusp
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/05/computers_ward_off_dementia/

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lutusp
This is a classic case where a popular account flatly contradicts the actual
study.

The popular account, linked above, is titled "Old men who use computers less
likely to get dementia", implying a cause-effect relationship. The article
goes on to strongly imply a cause-effect relationship: "Men who use computers
as they enter their winter years have a better chance of avoiding dementia
than those who don't ..."

The original paper
([http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjourna...](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0044239))
is titled "Older Men Who Use Computers _Have Lower Risk of Dementia_ "
(Emphasis added).

The original paper includes this phrase: "Randomised trials are required to
determine if the observed associations are causal." For those unfamiliar with
technical writing, this means "we have no idea whether the association between
computer use and dementia is a cause, an effect, or a coincidence."

Someday, psychology may become a science. But there's no present evidence for
that outcome, only counterevidence.

