Deciding on the Gun or Poision (Scheduling for Telebears, Part I–Math)

Posted by: Avinash on Monday, April 9th, 2007


We’re not very happy with the incoming freshmen right now, because all the cool math classes we would have taken (Combinatorics, Mathematical Economics, History of Math) have been flat out cancelled to make way for extra lower-div math for apathetic engineers. Grad classes of course remain intact, so that leaves most juniors and seniors like us scrambling to find cool things to take. (Looks like we’ll be dipping into DeCals or getting jobs).

Despite our bitterness, out of the goodness of our heart, we’re going to help them and the rest of you out with Telebears in the days and weeks to come. We’ll start with the basics every week and move onto the fun stuff later on.

Here’s what people are saying about the instructors for the standard math classes in fall…

Math 1A
Paul Vojta, MWF 2-3 PM, 10 Evans
“Office hours consist of a student asking a question, followed by a 5-second silence, followed by at most five words spoken by Vojta, followed by more awkward silence, and finally repeat…Told us that material wouldn’t be on a test, then put it on said test.”
Ole Hald, MWF 10-11 PM, 1 Pimentel**
“The only bad thing about taking his class is I was so spoiled by his sheer awesomeness that all the other math professors and classes I’ve had since are such disappointments…He must have been a stud in his younger years…he did Tai-Chi during my midterm”
Marius Wodzicki, TuTh 330-5P, 2050 VLSB
“He spends the majority of the time in lecture complaining about the book he is “forced” to use… Tests are problems from the book. Do your homework and you’ll get an A…I can’t understand him. but he is brilliant in some way that I cannot comprehend.”

Math 1B
Nicolai Reshetikhin, MWF 11-12, 2050 VLSB**

“He’s hard to understand at first but later everything makes perfect sense….A great lecturer that is very organized and provides clear explanations…[His] jokes silenced the lecture hall on more than one occasion.”
Maciej Zworski, TuTh 2-330, 2050 VLSB
“Would snap at the class for no apparent reason…His tests are horrible. 56% midterm averages, probably a lot worse on the final…His exams are similar to the practice exams he posts…he’s taken to using an overhead projector, and he ALWAYS blocks it while he’s writing”

Math 53
Alexandre Givental, TuTh 1230-2P, F295 Haas
“Very concise, cuts the crap when dealing with math. He teaches REAL math…Take this class if you want to be a theorist, stay away otherwise…he gave 75% of the class a zero on the theory on the second midterm..The worst professor I had at Cal.”
Michael Hutchings, MWF 3-4, 155 Dwinelle**
“Exams are challenging but fair…Don’t need to go to lecture just read the book and know how to do HW problems…good luck trying to stay awake…he talks about real life applications and cute examples about class materials…He tells some nerdy math jokes.”

Math 54
Arthur Ogus, MWF 9-10, 105 Stanley**
“Very clear lectures and fair exams, quite enthusiastic so lectures are not boring…he made so many mistakes during lectures people would laugh…midterms are not that difficult…Theorem, theorem, lemma, lemma, definition, proof, proof, proof, lemma, lemma, proof. Very hard, good professor if you like to be pointlessly challenged.”
Ming Gu, TuTh 330-5, 155 Dwinelle
“Lots of focus on proofs and theorems…MINGU!!!! horrible. absolutely horrible…Has an accent, but not impossible to understand…you can’t predict what will be on the exam…He’s not out to trick people…This class/professor was the reason I chose to no longer be a math major.”
H54: Dan Voiculescu, MWF 1-2, 70 Evans
“He was a pretty good lecturer…depend heavily on the textbook and the GSI which still only gave me a superficial understanding of the material…If you love math, he can entertain you for hours….nobody goes to lecture…”PLEASE WRITE IN INK.”…reminds me of the Pilsbury Dough Boy.”

**Our Pick
Fall 2007 Schedule of Classes [Berkeley Schedule]
UC Berkeley Professor Ratings [RateMyProfessors.com]



Topics: Professors, Schedules, Students, UC Berkeley

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