By 
Elizabeth Cox
 | 
TED-Ed Original

Can you outsmart the fallacy that fooled a generation of doctors?

It's 1843, and a debate is raging about one of the most common killers of women: childbed fever— no one knows what causes it. One physician has observed patients with inflammation go on to develop childbed fever, and therefore believes the inflammation causes the fever. What's the problem with this argument? Elizabeth Cox explores the false cause fallacy and how to dissect claims with skepticism. [Directed by TOGETHER, narrated by Jack Cutmore-Scott, music by Massassauga].

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