Timeline for How to tell a busy professor that I don't mind if he answers my questions when he has time?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Aug 25, 2018 at 15:17 | vote | accept | lightning_missile | ||
| Aug 24, 2018 at 11:38 | comment | added | phresnel | @morbidCode: I understand. As said, I am not proposing to not show gratitude - I am probably the most gratitious person I know, and I've been told to stop saying thank you too often on several occasions - it was really just a proposal to not show too much of it (I know it sounds a bit strange ;)). | |
| Aug 23, 2018 at 20:51 | comment | added | RamblingChicken | @phresnel--I think this is a culture thing. My suggestion is based on the fact that this professor is in the US, which means that he was paid (before he retired) to teach specific students at a specific time. His teaching is essentially a commercial transaction. So as I see it, this is absolutely an above-and-beyond favor--the professor didn't owe morbidCode even a response. Edited to add: Imagine, say, that your car mechanic was answering repeated questions about your adventures in repairing your car, for free. He might be happy to do it, might enjoy it, but he has zero duty to do it. | |
| Aug 23, 2018 at 14:49 | comment | added | lightning_missile | @phresnel while it might be true that professors are paid to help students, I am not his student. I am not paying him in any way. I am the one mostly benifiting from his help. I think the least I can do is show gratitude. | |
| Aug 23, 2018 at 14:44 | comment | added | lightning_missile | @RamblingChicken no, he hasn't said that yet. | |
| Aug 23, 2018 at 7:20 | comment | added | phresnel | @RamblingChicken: To me that expression of gratitude reads like "whatever you do, even if nothing, I am still grateful and happy. Do whatever you want", a pretty submissive statement, especially regarding that it's part of a professor's job description to help students (and at least in Germany, most professors are paid by the public, so it's almost an obligation to answer). Maybe it's a culture thing. IMPORTANT: I am not proposing to not show gratitude and be friendly, but please not overly so. | |
| Aug 22, 2018 at 19:12 | comment | added | RamblingChicken | Has he said that he's too busy to answer questions now? I'm not quite clear on the current situation. | |
| Aug 22, 2018 at 19:08 | comment | added | lightning_missile | @RamblingChicken can I, after a certain amount of time, ask if he is no longer busy? | |
| Aug 22, 2018 at 17:32 | comment | added | RamblingChicken | A strong expression of gratitude for some tiny favor might be seen as mocking, but that's not the situation. It sounds like this professor has put in a non-trivial amount of effort. A strong sincere expression of gratitude, in that case, doesn't strike me as taunting, and I especially can't see how it's un-humble. | |
| Aug 22, 2018 at 16:41 | comment | added | lightning_missile | @phresnel what do you mean? This is close to the exact thing I told the professor a few hours ago. I had to reply because he asked for confermation. | |
| Aug 22, 2018 at 12:00 | comment | added | phresnel | Would I be the prof and receive that gushing response, I would feel highly taunted at. Or think that this is a very toady boot-licker that's better sorted out for the sake of more humble persons. | |
| Aug 21, 2018 at 16:23 | comment | added | RamblingChicken | True. And I suppose I meant one email at a time, so that the professor doesn't have to shuffle through his emails to see what he missed. | |
| Aug 21, 2018 at 9:49 | comment | added | Federico | Sending one question at a time is not necessarily an ideal approach. I would say that asking the professor what they prefer (one or multiple questions at a time) is a better approach. | |
| Aug 21, 2018 at 4:59 | history | answered | RamblingChicken | CC BY-SA 4.0 |