Definition
Plain language
A score from minus one to one for how tightly two quantities rise and fall together in a straight-line way.
As stated in the literature
The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient measuring linear association between two variables; used in the controllability-versus-evasion analysis (r of about 0.8) and throughout these papers as a linear counterpart to the rank-based Spearman and Kendall measures.
Also called: Pearson r, Pearson
Why it matters: It's a standard single number for how tightly two things move together in a straight line, helping researchers spot and report relationships in data.
For example, a Pearson value near 0.8 between height and weight means taller people tend strongly, but not perfectly, to weigh more.
Heard on the show
“Pearson correlation of zero-point-seven-three across the sweep, with strong statistical significance.”Episode 018 — Language Models Compute the Rational Move, Then Override It