Professor Arisaka is def a smart guy but he isnt good at explaining his topics. I didnt understand anything from this class and he has a really heavy accent so sometimes it is hard to listen to the things he is saying. There is def some weekly reading and homework to do. The final project is a presentation. He lets you use Chat GPT though, so that saved me.

This class is an improvement on 4AL in structure, but not work. Slides feel much more coherent and helpful. The lab computers are actually usable which means the issue of having a Mac is mostly alleviated. However, note that this class is a lot more work than 4AL. Entire reports and a much faster pace. Likewise, the Arduino familiarity required for the final project is extremely high as you will be building a device rather than testing a theory. Make sure you have someone in your group comfortable with Arduino code or else you will suffer.

This class is abysmal. This is not a physics class, this is a computer science class. Arduino IDE is impossible to deal with on an Apple product. You will be coding profusely in Python, and likely required to write your own Arduino code for the final project depending on what your group chooses to do. This class is completely guided by slides that are outdated (dates are from previous quarters), poorly structured, and are completely centered around Windows UI, not Mac. I understand that it is an expectation of engineering majors to use Windows and never Mac, but this is a physics class. Likewise, your TA makes or breaks this class. If there is a tech issue...better hope your TA has experience. Need something for your final project...better hope your TA knows where everything is in the lab.

Easily the most miserable class on campus. And it doesn't take much to refine it to make it easy, the professor just refuses to do so.

4AL is just a bunch of busy work. The class is relatively easy as there are no exams and just lab reports and group projects. It's really important to have a good team that fairly splits up the work. Overall, as long as you complete the work and follow the rubric, you should easily end up with an "A."

Professor Arisaka only gives out A and A+, so this class is pretty nice. I enrolled into this class because I did research with him throughout the fall quarter.

I believe 4AL is a great course to experience writing research papers and working with data. My TA (Elias) was super nice and gave us lots of help with programming. I was lucky to have great group members too. The workload was pretty manageable (one post lab and pre lab per week), and three group projects. Most people get A and A+.

However, if you don't have much programming experience, the learning curve for python in this class is pretty steep. Most of the time, you have to rely on the person in the group that has prior programming experience (which was me in my group).

this class is VERY DEPENDENT ON YOUR TA. My ta Alexander Galkin was amazing. When he talked to his lecture slides, it was understandable although some parts maybe left out but you can always ask him questions and he will gladly help you out. For the final project, he was a great tremendous help when one of my labmates went to his office hours! and the only time we start our final project was the very last day of lab day :sob: :sob: but we clutched up! here are the grading breakdown:

​(Individual) Pre-Lab Survey - 2%
​(Individual) Attendance - 10% (-1% for each missing lab)
(Individual) Weekly Pre-lab assignments - 15%
(Individual) Weekly Post-lab assignments - 15%
(Team) Unit 2 Report - 10%
(Team) Unit 3 Report - 15%
(Team) Final Project Presentation - 15%
(Team) Final Project Report - 15%
Cleaning up lab/table - 3%

Typically, for some weekly post-lab, sometimes it will be group work sometimes it will be individual. ALSO, for the REPORTS, make sure to start them early, be concise about it, and make sure to STRICTLY follow the rubric. Also, to make it more professional, use Latex :D.
Anyways, this class is ALOT of work than most, if not some 4 unit or 5 unit class :sob:. Dont take it for granted.

have fun and goodluck! P.S Shoutout to my labmates throughout this quarter (bluetooth that don't work most of the time)

I took this fiat lux the fall of my freshman year and found it very eye opening, but also dense with information. Prof. Arisaka goes into the nitty gritty regarding the science involved, much of which has been skimmed over and simplified in previous educational exposures, but its because he knows so much. Its sometimes had to keep track of all the information, but a lot of it is largely conceptual over memorization, so understanding ideas and causes/effects are more useful then trying to note the exact jargon and vocabulary terms. The main assignments consisted of reading feedbacks and summaries, which are based on your own perception and understanding rather than correctness, and was very much manageable. The final is essentially a slideshow and presentation on a topic of interest spurred by the curriculum so far, and those of my quarter ranged from more physics based time travel to, biology and neuroscience topics such as why do we need sleep. Definitely make sure you fact check and use critical thinking, as your audience is a clear expert in the field, and he was not afraid to applaud or criticize the presenter on their information's correctness. If you're interested and willing, definitely sign up. I witnessed some students zone out or draw (literally the whole time), which I thought was disrespectful to the professor and a waste of their own time.
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Selling required textbooks!:
Just Six Numbers - Martin Rees
Life Ascending: Ten Great Inventions of Evolution - Nick Lane
I of the Vortex: From Neurons to Self - Rodolfo R. Llinas

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I have my past graded exams for sale! $10 for each exam. I received an A+ in the course. Email me at *************