Basically, an A in this class is guaranteed. However, you do have to put a relatively heavy amount of work in for a 2 unit class. The article summary takes a very long time to do. It took me like 12 hours, and that's not even longer than average. Definitely start a few days in advance. The podcast was annoying, but the bar is set very low for an A on that so don't stress. You can skip lecture if you want, because you only have to ask one question, and once that's done it doesn't matter. However, the guest lecturers were often pretty interesting so I liked going (most of the time) anyway. The second part of lecture, which he calls "writing workshop," is literally completely useless and basically the equivalent to 6th grade English class. Feel free to leave after the guest lecturer. A nice little GPA booster with no stress, but more work than it should be.

Looks like a lot of work, really isn't. Kinda boring tho but its a required course so whatever.

I don't know why this class got so many negative reviews. Content is extremely interesting (physio) and the professor is quite knowledgable and good at communicating the working mechanisms of systems biology. A useful class for every bioengineer (especially pre-meds) and taught by someone who knows what there doing. Also, the slides are good, reviews that say otherwise are capping.

I agree with the other most recent review. His slides are pretty decent, it's useful information, and he does a good job presenting it. A lot of the content isn't difficult to digest, and lots of the info from class can be supplemented in other areas online if you need a different perspective. Minimal time commitment and not the hardest thing by any means.

I deeply care about this class as I am pre-med and find the information valuable, but I believe it needs a major redesign, especially the slides. There is often too much information on the slides, including figures that are sometimes skipped or not explained well enough, leaving students confused about what material is essential and what is just extra information. It is also overwhelming to see a slide filled with content all at once—it would be much clearer if points, pictures, and figures appeared gradually with animations. Additionally, some concepts taught in class seem to contradict information from other sources. I understand that models of complex systems require assumptions, but these assumptions are not always clearly outlined, which can lead to confusion depending on the logical approach taken.
Beyond the slides, I also believe the grading system needs improvement. It does not seem fair that grades below an A are curved while an A is not—either all grades should be curved or none at all, similar to other STEM courses. The exam grading could also be adjusted, as the questions are often broad, and it feels like every possible detail must be mentioned to receive full credit. A better approach might be to award full points if a student correctly identifies most key points rather than requiring every detail. While I find this class valuable, I believe these changes would greatly improve the learning experience.

I disagree with the last 2 reviews. I am pre-med and was excited for this class. While the content is interesting I think the slides are really bad and Linsley did not really seen knowledgable about the content. He improved when it came to the kidneys but the cardiac lectures were the worst. Many people just stopped going to class cause the lectures were so unhelpful.

His written tests are fair though. Quizzes are a bit annoying and short on time.