When I was in high school (about 730 years ago, or that feels like day to day), I first learned basic trigonometry. A common type of homework or test questions involved situations where I had to find the length of one side of the triangle based on the other values provided. For example, the problem might indicate that there are posts with unknown height. The problem is to tell you that there is a shadow of such length that is cast from that post by a light source at such an angle. The given information may have different trigonometric identities to resolve missing information. I’ve always enjoyed this kind of question and found it to be very pleased with how it works in any direction. If you could tell me the height of the shadow and the length of the shadow, if you could tell me the angle of light, or if you could tell me the angle of light and the length of the shadow, you could tell me the height of the post.
However, considering the post is six feet tall, I wanted to know why the post is SX feet tall. What is the height of the post? If I were to tell you that the angle of light and the length of the shadow caused the post height, it became strange to reality. More than a strange thing – that would be a confused answer to be incorrect. The identity of trigonometry is true, and the mathematics behind it is perfect. The relationship between these variables is Ironclad. But it was the height of Anan an an -asestion about how the light became the current angle by deriving it to the post height or the length of the shadow. Moving the light to a new position changes the length of the shadow. Pushing the post down to the ground six inches at a time will cause the light to hit at different angles and the shadows will be of different lengths. But you’re not Beeble to appear in mathematical equations all day long and say what caused a change in the angle or height of the post. Trigonometric identity is not a mechanism of causality.
Unfortunately, there is no shortage of economics commentators who have failed to absorb the basic points of this VRY and speak as if to set the accounting identity. Solving mathematical problems is a high level of economic insight. Styling yourself as a sophisticated dealer in economics, sumone becomes a more boring and confused place whenever they discuss the level of personal or public debt as if the trade balance is caused by. Accounting identity is not a causal mechanism.
