Whole picture

To the editor:

The numbers Paul Atchley (Journal-World, Oct 17) uses in his statements seem at first glance to prove his two conclusions stated in his last two sentences. But what Mr. Atchley fails to do (or was it on purpose) is to prove a cause-and-effect relationship of numbers to conclusions. Coincidence in time is not enough. There were thousands of other influences included in the same time spans referenced: wars, feasts, famines, epidemics, technologies, education declines or upswings, birth rate declines or increases, climate change, worldwide economics swings, worldwide political swings to name just a few. Any combination could easily have more to do with the outcomes referenced. Snapshot statements are not the whole picture.