Googling "Empirical Question"

UPDATE BELOW.

As Robert pointed out to me this weekend, this blog was briefly the #6 result on Google for "empirical question." I have now moved farther down into obscurity; the posts "I Don't Like Pancakes" and "Cricket Season" are now on page 4 of the results. I can only hope that people who are actually trying to figure out what an empirical question is are smart enough to not think posts like that are likely to deliver the desired information.

But in case somebody wants to know:

An empirical question is something that can only be answered by going out into the world and gathering data on the subject through observation, experimentation, or other investigative techniques. An empirical question cannot be answered through application of logic, moral reasoning, concepts, definitions, or otherwise sitting around drinking beer with your friends and considering the issue; evidence from the world is needed.

Example of an empirical question: What item does Wal-Mart sell more of than any other?

Example of a non-empirical question: What is the moral status of a vampire with a soul?

So what is Wal-Mart's best selling item? According to a Wal-Mart checker and my marketing professor: bananas.

What about a vampire with a soul? This question is best posed to a group of undergraduate Buffy and Angel fans at about 1:30 a.m.

Speaking of Angel, I watched two episodes last night that got me where I live - WWII submarines and muppet-like puppets. A moment at the end of the puppet-infused episode "Smile Time" is one of the cutest things I have ever seen on television - it comes right after the line, "So, you got a little demon in you" in the clip below, which does not do it full justice but is still damn funny.



UPDATE: In the episode of Angel I watched this evening, the two vampires with souls were in a huge argument that turned out to be about this question - "If cavemen and astronauts got into a fight, who would win?" I will leave the determination of whether this is an empirical question as an exercise for the reader.