B2–C1 · CDG · XTHCDG001

[X] may have triggered [Y], but that does not make it the underlying cause

A reusable frame from “Causal diagnosis”. Separate triggers from causes, compare mechanisms, and diagnose causal structure without treating sequence as proof.

EN · English[X] may have triggered [Y], but that does not make it the underlying cause.
DE · German[X] kann [Y] ausgelöst haben, ist damit aber nicht automatisch die zugrunde liegende Ursache.

Try variations2 · more examples

  1. RU · Translation

    Скачок трафика мог спровоцировать замедление, но это не делает его первопричиной.

    EN · English

     The traffic spike  may  have  triggered the slowdown, but  that does not  make  it the underlying cause.

    DE · German

     Die Lastspitze  kann  die Verlangsamung  ausgelöst  haben,  ist damit aber nicht automatisch die zugrunde liegende Ursache.

  2. RU · Translation

    Действие пользователя могло вызвать ошибку, но это не делает его первопричиной.

    EN · English

     The user action  may  have  triggered the error, but  that does not  make  it the underlying cause.

    DE · German

     Die Nutzeraktion  kann  den Fehler  ausgelöst  haben,  ist damit aber nicht automatisch die zugrunde liegende Ursache.

Use this move when you want to…

Reasoning move · Cause

Cause

What it does

Separate the event that exposed a problem from the mechanism that produced it.

Pattern graph

Continue with nearby patterns

Related reasoning patterns4

Nearby structures let you perform the same reasoning move in a different form.

  1. [X] may be necessary for [Y], but it is not sufficient on its own.Cause · same reasoning move · same study set · related logic
  2. If [X] were the main cause, we would expect [Y]; if [Z] were, we would expect [W].Cause · same reasoning move · same study set
  3. The link from [X] to [Y] only makes sense if [Z] happens in between.Cause · same reasoning move · same study set
  4. What changed before [X], and what stayed the same?Cause · same reasoning move · same study set

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