is quite common. Spontaneous generation theory for infections is a good historical example.
Another example is the "action potential", the voltage when certain processes are taking place inside the cell, processes that for example cause muscle contractions, or the peripheral passage of nerve impulses. It is an effect, not a cause. Even more, it is a measurable consequence of an effect, not the effect itself. It does not drive anything, and the only reason the conversation focuses around it, the only reason it is talked about as if it causes the effects it is associated with, is because people do not know what actually happens during the processes that are accompanied by that type of voltage shift.
The "action potential" is the voltage in a cell when some process causes an effect that is accompanied by a voltage reversal or "depolarization" (prefix de- meaning "reverse, opposite". )
The so called “threshold” is when whatever mechanism is taking place has reached a scale where it will reach a maximum (based on equilibrium and natural laws), and the nerve impulse or muscle contraction takes place. The "threshold" does not trigger anything, it is just a reflection of other processes that are taking place in the cell and causing the action that the voltage potential ("action potential") is associated with.
