Thread by @eliasbareinboim

1/n Dear friends, I am pleased to announce that after four productive years here at Purdue, I decided to move to Columbia University, starting on this July 1st. I am excited about the new possibilities and adventures that we’ll have in causality-land in the next years, both in

2/n terms of the science as well as the applications of causal inference (CI).

I want to share a Q I have been asked more frequently in the last years, which is whether I believe CI is done, at least in terms of basic principles, and if all that is needed are applications.

3/n I couldn't disagree more with the statement. (For details, check my talk Judea alluded, which is available @ cs.columbia.edu/streaming/2019…).

I don't think anyone would deem molecular biology "solved", and ready to apply (e.g., to solve cancer) when Watson and Crick published...

4/n their seminal Nature paper in 1953; on the contrary, it was the beginning of a new era of biology, modern molecular biology was born. I'll leave readers to adjust the proportionality of the metaphor for their own belief system, but the same is applicable to causal inference.

5/n We did have amazing breakthroughs & discovered fundamental principles in the last decades (see my talk :)), but there's still a long way to go; modern causal inference is just starting.

No question that it may be hard to measure, understand, or manipulate the str of the DNA

6/n (or corresponding downstream processes), but this still doesn't mean that the structure is not there, happening, and shaping life; this also applies to a causal model and any type of macro phenomenon that one wants to analyze or to have any influence on.

7/n Against this background, I would say that any help to advance the science of CI or start applying CI methods in practical settings would be very welcome.

Last but not least,

8/8 If anyone is in the NY area & wants to grab a coffee, drop me a line. We should have a friendly & intellectually stimulating environment to receive scholars interested in learning more about CI, doing research in the field, or using CI methods in their own research. See you!