Re: OT: Question for Professors

rnorman <rnorman@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Feb 4, 4:13 pm, Garamond Lethe <cartographi...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Feb 4, 4:13 pm, The CDesign Proponentist

<cdesign.proponent...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I know there are a lot of professors on here. I was wondering, suppose
someone in the general public had a question that was relevant to your
field. How inappropriate would it be for them to maybe get on your
school's website, navigate to your department, find the email address
of you or one of your colleagues, and then send the question by email?

I've done this several times and usually get a prompt, helpful
response. But, I craft these queries very carefully.

1. Be polite, but above all be brief.
2. Show that you've done your homework and that you have a good
reason to be contacting this person. ("You were listed as the contact
person for this article in Science, and out of the several articles I
read that one comes closest to answering my question.")
3. Ask a question that can be answered briefly. The best question
(IMHO) is "What would you suggest I read next?" Don't ask for
explanations. That's what the literature is there for. However, if
you go off and read what they've told you to read and you have a very
specific question that they are uniquely qualified to answer, they'll
probably be receptive.

I mean, I know you're busy people, and your time is valuable (despite
being underpaid), and you have your own paying students, and you don't
necessarily have time to field a million questions from Lord-knows-
who.

I do have a question like this, and it is completely unrelated to
biology, but this is the only place I know where I can ask actual
university professors.

Also, the person I'm thinking of contacting is somewhat well-known for
addressing this particular type of question in debates and articles
and stuff. Think Ken Miller or PZ Myers, except the topic in question
is much smaller in scope with much less publicity than Evolution.
Still, I imagine they might be tired of being asked questions on this
topic by now, so I have to factor that in.

If you want to talk about Professors X's opinion on the topic, then
you're pretty much requesting an interview. Are you planning on
publishing the interview or citing it in your work? If not, then the
only thing they're getting out of it is the pleasure of discussing
their work and the pleasure of your company. The more you know and
the nicer you are, the more they will find such a conversation
pleasant.

All that being said, if you're just looking for information, you'll
have a lot better luck with younger, mostly unknown faculty.

I just don't want to be rude.

As long as you make clear that you don't feel like they owe you a
answer, and that you're asking because you honestly don't know (as
opposed to making rhetorical points), I don't think you'll come across
as rude.- Hide quoted text -

Speaking as a retired college professor who did get and sometimes
answered such queries, this is excellent advice. You might do better
getting a good response if you go to a local college, especially one
with more emphasis on teaching. A research professor at a major
institution is likely not to respond. Also, there are an awful lot of
real cranks and crackpots out there with earth-shattering theories and
you have to be careful to come across as a reasonable person with an
interesting question and, as Steve Carlip indicated, have
demonstrated in the way you ask that you have already done what
research you can on your own. Burkhard's advice to ask first on some
appropriate web forum is also excellent. You can then sort out the
serious responses from the usual web chaff.

You can also try asking right here. We are a very strange collection
of people with all sorts of backgrounds and interests and can perhaps
at least get you off to a good start with suggestions as to better
places to search.

But take great care not to ask philosophical questions. I warned you,
OK?
--
John S. Wilkins, Philosophy, University of Sydney
scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts
But al be that he was a philosophre,
Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre

.

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