I recently wrote about how applied causal inference can align with what Feynman called "cargo cult science"; namely, when we state identification assumptions without interrogating them. I use an example from nutritional epidemiology to convey the problem:
miceandtigers.substack.com/p/cargo-cult...
miceandtigers.substack.com
Cargo Cult Causal Inference
Identification is a proof; real-data analysis is an inverse problem. Reciting causal assumptions instead of interrogating them is cargo cult causal inference.
