In 1835 a Swiss doctor, H. C. Lombard, collected data on the longevity of 8488 people in different professions based on over 50 years of data in Geneva, Switzerland from etat civil de Geneve.  A partial list follows:
Apothecaries                                   69.2      Candle Makers       63.8
Architects                                         68.5      Landlords                63.8
Bakers                                              50.3      Iron workers            57.5
Barbers                                             49.3      Tobacco traders    63.4
Carpenters                                       55.7      Grocers                   57.7
Inn Keepers                                      56.3      Goldsmiths              68.8
Shoe-makers                                   54.4      Chimney Sweeps   45.3
Domestic servants                           46.0     Soldiers                   46.6
Administrative Office Employees  62.2      Bookkeepers          61.6
Student                                             20.7      Stone Mason           36.3

The profession with the lowest average longevity was student, 20.7 years.

Lombard, H.C. (1835), Del’influence des professions sur la durée de la vie, Annales d’hygiène publique et de médecine légale, 14:88-131, in Stigler, Stephen M. (1999), Statistics on the Table: The History of Statistical Concepts and Methods, Harvard (Cambridge), pp. 61-63.

1. If you like being a student but your goal is long life, what’s wrong with using this information to make a decision about a profession to achieve that goal?

2. Suppose we compare the SAT scores of current Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors at WCU to determine the class with the brightest students.  Is this a good procedure?

3. Do your answers to the above questions mean we cannot ascribe causality to human behavior?   Provide some explanation or thoughts that lead to your conclusion.