Comment by justin66 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by justin66 | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

I should pay more attention but I believe I've always used "doctor" when dealing with real professors (adjuncts might get a "professor," or "hey asshole") and I tend to think it's the norm in the midwestern schools I attended. I'm not sure about that, but I don't think I came up with the habit all on my own.

The exception was in theater classes, and perhaps in a couple of other instances of long acquaintance. It just seems reasonable to default to the safer, more formal option. I believe in some places (Europe?) the preferred title would be "professor" instead of "doctor," and I agree that that is more conceptually reasonable outside of medicine.

> Asking that the title be used explicitly just smells like insecurity, and wouldn't reflect well.

The professor in question is teaching electrical engineering students. If they're anything like the EE students I know, this is almost certainly not the only time during class someone will have to politely but firmly remind these students to color inside societal lines. :)

Given an excessive amount of formality that I was unsure of, I would just clam up and not address the teacher at all. In fact, professors would often use informality as a way to encourage students to actually interact with them, but if you want distance between you and your students, formalities are a good way to achieve that.

I am glad computer science is very informal compared to other disciplines, otherwise I would totally lose it at conferences where most everyone holds a PhD (and often a professorship). The use of titles is very rare in our discipline.

> In fact, professors would often use informality as a way to encourage students to actually interact with them, but if you want distance between you and your students, formalities are a good way to achieve that.

That's an interesting perspective. It's not universally true. I'm personally bothered by the fakeness of a "hey, just call me Ed" type of introduction from a professor, someone who has a massive amount of power over my future and who is not my friend, and it's going to create a distance and mistrust until I get to know them. On the other hand, it's never been a big issue either way. It's not hard to adapt to local norms, and the macro issues of education are going to dwarf little things like titles soon enough. (I'm currently a CS student, but I'm a comparatively old one :) )

Most academic computer scientists are hackers at heart; they are quite genuine in their informality.

In my view - and I am not positioning this as some sort of universal truth or trying to persuade you of anything at all - they might be genuine in their informality, but that's not where the "fakeness" I mentioned above is coming from.

The relationship between teacher and student is a fundamentally formal relationship of trust with (one hopes) clearly defined responsibilities, authority, and so on. It's fake to pretend that the power differential between teacher and student does not exist. I don't feel like a professor who is overly informal right off the bat is honoring the relationship. (but they are sometimes a lot of fun at parties...)

I've never been uncomfortable with informality with a teacher once genuine friendship develops. That's different.

If that's the norm in the midwest, it's perhaps worth noting that the author teaches at Rose-Hulman, in Indiana (which has a phenomenal reputation, fwiw).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com