How should I tell a professor the answer to something he doesn't know?

Question

Last year, I asked my physics professor a question that he did not know the answer to. This year, while doing a research paper, I also figured out the answer to the question I asked him. I want to send an email to my professor explaining the answer I found simply because he's a curious guy.

Typically, if I asked something that the professor didn't know, I'd email them a few days later saying:

Hi Dr. Professor, after some reading, I figured out the answer to why so-and-so happens. Here's what I learned.

But since it's been so long, he definitely doesn't remember what I asked him. So I'd like to remind him what my question was. However, writing:

"Hi Dr. Professor, last year I asked you a question that you did not know the answer to, and this year, I figured it out. Here's what the question was, and here's what I learned"

sounds a bit insulting to me, because I'm writing that he didn't know the answer. What is a good way to share an answer with a professor without being "insulting"? Am I just overthinking this?

Answer 1

I think there is an easy way to phrase this to make it tactful, after all professors are often curious about learning new things too!

"Hello Professor X, I hope you've been well! Last year I asked you a question and we couldn't figure it out at the time but I've since come across an interesting answer and just wanted to pass along the info just in case you're curious. We were discussing Y ... "

Answer 2

As an alternative to Juan's answer (roughly in the same spirit), I suggest that you can phrase the email regarding the issue itself--since presumably the professor would also be interested in knowing the answer to the problem. Something like the following should suffice.

Hi Professor XY, recently I learnt about [...], which seemed really interesting to me because [...]. If you recall, this is similar to what we discussed a while ago regarding ABC, which is what prompted me to look into this further. I thought I would send this to you in case you happened to be interested in it. Have a nice day!

The point is to focus on the part which the professor would also be curious about/interested in, and to not dwell on the fact that they weren't aware of the answer beforehand.

Answer 3

The polite way to do this in academia is to pose it as a question. This way, you show your humility. You acknowledge that the solution or answer you found might be flawed or incomplete. Also, you open yourself up to collaboration.

Answer 4

"A few years (semesters?) ago we were discussing the issue of _____ and the specific problem that ______. I recently came across something that brought the topic back to me and discovered that ______. I wanted to share that with you and to see if you have heard of this as well."

This way you are making it something of mutual interest and still being respectful.

Answer 5

There are two risks here:

• Sounding insulting (as you have noticed)
• Being boring (by bringing up some trivial thing from a year ago)

You should avoid both, because there is nothing to gain from emphasizing them.

Dear [name], lately I've been working on my current [paper/research/assignment] and here's some updates on how that is going. We can talk in more detail in our next meeting.

Incidentally, I ended up learning [thing], which we had discussed in the past. It was interesting to find out that [implication].

I think this is a better answer than the accepted one because:

• Doesn't remind the professor that he "didn't know" (if it's been a year since, you may even be remembering wrong and perhaps he did know)
• Doesn't sound petty by referencing something from a year ago
• Isn't wasting his time with some random thing that hasn't been relevant in a year
• Sticks to relevant, pertinent things that matter to the work that's here and now, not ancient history

There is of course nothing wrong with discussing history. Sometimes there are unanswered questions that linger for decades or centuries before spurning great discoveries when their time comes. But a productive researcher should maintain focus on priorities. If this thing from a year ago was that important, a year ago wouldn't have been the last time you discussed it. So one has to wonder, if nobody's cared in a year, why should anyone start now? I think answering that question is the most constructive direction to go here.

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I wrote the above assuming you have a relationship with the professor already. If you are talking about an undergraduate instructor, the same principles still hold, but a better example template could be:

I have decided to work on [problem], and I wanted to share my findings with you. I actually became interested in this problem due to a discussion we had during our [class]. I have found that [answer], which is [implications].

Answer 6

I would add a dimension:

The amount of time spending on the problem:

• Your professor probably thought a few seconds / minutes about it
• You probably spend minutes / hours and from your text

This year, while doing a research paper, I also figured out the answer to the question I asked him.

it even sounds that it wasnt your main purpose to answer the question, but you found it while working on a research paper.

So you could include that in your text:

Last year we discussed an interesting question to which we didnt find the answer "ad hoc". I just wanted to inform you that i stumbled upon a clue towards the answer while working on a research paper. In case you are curious,....

Answer 7

I am XXX. Last year, we couldn't figure out(state the problem that the professor did not know the asnwer). While reading (State the source of your answer so he can refer to) this year, I realised(state what you found). I just thought it would be nice to share with you.

Kind Regards XXX