LIFESCI 40
Statistics of Biological Systems
Description: Lecture, three hours; laboratory, two hours. Requisite: course 30A. Designed for life sciences students. Introduction to statistics with emphasis on computer simulation of chance probabilities as replacement for traditional formula-based approach. Simulations allow for deeper understanding of statistical concepts, and are applicable to wider class of distributions and estimators. Students learn simple programming language to carry out statistical simulations, and apply them to classic problems of elementary statistics. Letter grading.
Units: 5.0
Units: 5.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2023 - I thought that Professor Garfinkel was very passionate about this subject, and that normally made the lectures very engaging and interesting. He explained concepts in a way that made sense and unlike the 30 series-the coding that we did outside of class was INCREDIBLY relevant to what we were learning in class and it actually really helped to solidify my understanding of different statistical methods. The coding was actually talked about in the lectures and didn't feel like two separate lectures, as 30 a and b did. However, the workload for this class was very unreasonable. It seemed like the LS40 professors thought that this was students only class. The content was actually really interesting and I think it is very important to learn the problems with "traditional" statistical approaches. I found myself consistently spending 10-15 hours on the weekly homework and lab. It was difficult to get help because when I went to office hours, the TA was so overwhelmed with questions. Sometimes, the TAs also weren't able to give concise answers-they often seemed just as confused on the material as the students. There were two team data analysis assignments that were worth a total 20% of the grade. These assignments weren't unreasonably difficult but were a TON of work-especially considering that we also had weekly homework and a midterm on top of these assignments. I also found myself doing the majority of the work for my group, and it was frustrating because we all got the same grade and I received little help with the coding.
Winter 2023 - I thought that Professor Garfinkel was very passionate about this subject, and that normally made the lectures very engaging and interesting. He explained concepts in a way that made sense and unlike the 30 series-the coding that we did outside of class was INCREDIBLY relevant to what we were learning in class and it actually really helped to solidify my understanding of different statistical methods. The coding was actually talked about in the lectures and didn't feel like two separate lectures, as 30 a and b did. However, the workload for this class was very unreasonable. It seemed like the LS40 professors thought that this was students only class. The content was actually really interesting and I think it is very important to learn the problems with "traditional" statistical approaches. I found myself consistently spending 10-15 hours on the weekly homework and lab. It was difficult to get help because when I went to office hours, the TA was so overwhelmed with questions. Sometimes, the TAs also weren't able to give concise answers-they often seemed just as confused on the material as the students. There were two team data analysis assignments that were worth a total 20% of the grade. These assignments weren't unreasonably difficult but were a TON of work-especially considering that we also had weekly homework and a midterm on top of these assignments. I also found myself doing the majority of the work for my group, and it was frustrating because we all got the same grade and I received little help with the coding.
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Spring 2022 - this class is HORRIBLE with Jane Shevstov. Jane is the WORST teacher ever. She is impossible to understand and should not be allowed to teach ever again. It is absolutely impossible to pay attention in her lectures so you learn absolutely nothing. The grading is extremely unforgiving and the grading scheme for this course makes it really hard to receive a good grade. midterm and final is 75% of your grade and the other 25% is homework that is not graded on completion!! DO NOT take this class! Also, Jane is one of the writers of the textbook and it is horribly written and hard to understand which does not help at all. The only thing helping me in this class is notes that are re-scribed by the TAs. Also the homework is really tedious and repetitive and takes foreverrrr. PLEASE do not take this class with Jane (I have heard good things about other professors but DO NOT TAKE IT W JANE).
Spring 2022 - this class is HORRIBLE with Jane Shevstov. Jane is the WORST teacher ever. She is impossible to understand and should not be allowed to teach ever again. It is absolutely impossible to pay attention in her lectures so you learn absolutely nothing. The grading is extremely unforgiving and the grading scheme for this course makes it really hard to receive a good grade. midterm and final is 75% of your grade and the other 25% is homework that is not graded on completion!! DO NOT take this class! Also, Jane is one of the writers of the textbook and it is horribly written and hard to understand which does not help at all. The only thing helping me in this class is notes that are re-scribed by the TAs. Also the homework is really tedious and repetitive and takes foreverrrr. PLEASE do not take this class with Jane (I have heard good things about other professors but DO NOT TAKE IT W JANE).
Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - Dr. Tingley is the best! Spring 2020 was his first time teaching LS40 and you would have thought he has been teaching this course for years. He made the class environment comfortable and enjoyable. I would recommend this course over Stats 13, as we learn skills that are more applicable and valuable for the future. Dr. Tingley did a great job teaching difficult concepts and made doing well in the class highly achievable. There is coding involved, but as long as you took LS30A-B and felt decently comfortable in your coding skills, you will do great.
Spring 2020 - Dr. Tingley is the best! Spring 2020 was his first time teaching LS40 and you would have thought he has been teaching this course for years. He made the class environment comfortable and enjoyable. I would recommend this course over Stats 13, as we learn skills that are more applicable and valuable for the future. Dr. Tingley did a great job teaching difficult concepts and made doing well in the class highly achievable. There is coding involved, but as long as you took LS30A-B and felt decently comfortable in your coding skills, you will do great.
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