Professor
Yiannis Moschovakis
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Most Helpful Review
I took Math 31B with Moschovakis in the Fall and although the class wasn't easy or anything, I thought he did a good job of teaching the material. It's true that he has an accent but you get used to it after a couple lectures. He basically writes down almost everything he says on the board so if you can't understand what he is saying, you can just read it off the board. Copy down the proofs but down pay attention to them, they don't come up on the exams. I only took Calc AB in high school and a lot of the people in 31B had already taken a lot of the subject matter in high school with Calc BC but the curve wasn't that bad. I got the average score on the first midterm (I was sick for like 3 lectures: really easy to fall behind!!!) but then got an A on his second midterm which pushed my entire midterm grade up to an A. His exams are super long and he gives you very little time. Both midterms were about 8 problems long but they all had at least 2 parts (some had 4) and it is incredibly difficult to do them in the time allotted. Same with his HW quizzes, which consist of 5 questions to do in 15 minutes!! If you don't know what you're doing, you're not gonna have time to figure it out during the quiz. Moschovakis is really approachable and will help you out if you need it. Go to his review sessions even if you don't have questions. Do the homework questions but do the odd numbers so you know you're doing them right. Go to his or your TA's office hours. Overall, I would recommend taking this professor if you are prepared to work for your grade. If not then take someone else.
I took Math 31B with Moschovakis in the Fall and although the class wasn't easy or anything, I thought he did a good job of teaching the material. It's true that he has an accent but you get used to it after a couple lectures. He basically writes down almost everything he says on the board so if you can't understand what he is saying, you can just read it off the board. Copy down the proofs but down pay attention to them, they don't come up on the exams. I only took Calc AB in high school and a lot of the people in 31B had already taken a lot of the subject matter in high school with Calc BC but the curve wasn't that bad. I got the average score on the first midterm (I was sick for like 3 lectures: really easy to fall behind!!!) but then got an A on his second midterm which pushed my entire midterm grade up to an A. His exams are super long and he gives you very little time. Both midterms were about 8 problems long but they all had at least 2 parts (some had 4) and it is incredibly difficult to do them in the time allotted. Same with his HW quizzes, which consist of 5 questions to do in 15 minutes!! If you don't know what you're doing, you're not gonna have time to figure it out during the quiz. Moschovakis is really approachable and will help you out if you need it. Go to his review sessions even if you don't have questions. Do the homework questions but do the odd numbers so you know you're doing them right. Go to his or your TA's office hours. Overall, I would recommend taking this professor if you are prepared to work for your grade. If not then take someone else.
Most Helpful Review
He is kind of hard to understand and his writing is messy too. He's good if you understand what he is saying, but I didn't. For his tests, most of the questions aren't too hard, but he gives you many many problems so most people run out of time. If you are the kind of person who does math very fast, then take him, but if you aren't really fast then don't.
He is kind of hard to understand and his writing is messy too. He's good if you understand what he is saying, but I didn't. For his tests, most of the questions aren't too hard, but he gives you many many problems so most people run out of time. If you are the kind of person who does math very fast, then take him, but if you aren't really fast then don't.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2019 - WHOO! Alrighty, so Math 114C, being a C class, is definitely a more obscured class in the Math Department. The topic is Computability/Recursion Theory, so you're going to be learning about the complex theory behind many famous mathematicians, namely Kurt Godel and Alan Turing. It's extremely rewarding to have examined this theory in depth, as well. However, Professor Moschovakis gives you advance warning that the subject material is abstract and difficult - the notes will come off looking like some devil-child of cuneiform and hieroglyphs. I think more than half our class faded off from the beginning of the quarter to the end. The homework is not easy - there is no solutions manual, and the problems require you to really think through what you have learned. The exams are fair, though on the challenging side. There are bonus points, so you can afford to miss a couple of parts of a tough question and still make it through. The people that stayed in the class were pretty much all honors students or students that took rigorous math/compsci schedules, so the scores were high. Hopefully we made it out with a similar curve to what's shown in this page. Professor Moschovakis himself is a great lecturer and an extremely knowledgeable professor. He was really helpful during office hours to tackle the homework, and so was our TA. His handwriting was a bit messy, and he didn't write much on the board during lecture. However, what he said made it easier to understand the dense notation and material in the notes he put up (I mean, he is 81 as of writing). It was really unfortunate that he had to be out during the final four weeks (we had guest lecturers in his stead), as he had to see a doctor to take care of his back. Though I'm unsure of whether he'll teach again, I truly hope for the best regarding his health. And also, I hope all my bright classmates succeeded! Math 114C is NOT a class that you'll expect to get by via sitting around. You will have to put forth your absolute best, but in the end, it is truly rewarding, especially upon studying from such an established professor.
Winter 2019 - WHOO! Alrighty, so Math 114C, being a C class, is definitely a more obscured class in the Math Department. The topic is Computability/Recursion Theory, so you're going to be learning about the complex theory behind many famous mathematicians, namely Kurt Godel and Alan Turing. It's extremely rewarding to have examined this theory in depth, as well. However, Professor Moschovakis gives you advance warning that the subject material is abstract and difficult - the notes will come off looking like some devil-child of cuneiform and hieroglyphs. I think more than half our class faded off from the beginning of the quarter to the end. The homework is not easy - there is no solutions manual, and the problems require you to really think through what you have learned. The exams are fair, though on the challenging side. There are bonus points, so you can afford to miss a couple of parts of a tough question and still make it through. The people that stayed in the class were pretty much all honors students or students that took rigorous math/compsci schedules, so the scores were high. Hopefully we made it out with a similar curve to what's shown in this page. Professor Moschovakis himself is a great lecturer and an extremely knowledgeable professor. He was really helpful during office hours to tackle the homework, and so was our TA. His handwriting was a bit messy, and he didn't write much on the board during lecture. However, what he said made it easier to understand the dense notation and material in the notes he put up (I mean, he is 81 as of writing). It was really unfortunate that he had to be out during the final four weeks (we had guest lecturers in his stead), as he had to see a doctor to take care of his back. Though I'm unsure of whether he'll teach again, I truly hope for the best regarding his health. And also, I hope all my bright classmates succeeded! Math 114C is NOT a class that you'll expect to get by via sitting around. You will have to put forth your absolute best, but in the end, it is truly rewarding, especially upon studying from such an established professor.
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Most Helpful Review
I absolutely loved this professor. I feel like he would bend over backwards to make sure the class understood the material, and his concern for the class was way more than I expected from a UCLA math professor. His tests are pretty lengthy, but extremely fair. He explains things very well, especially in office hours, and even then he won't hesitate to lecture on something that you didn't understand. Overall really nice guy with an appealing Greek accent. (Also an interesting/fun math class, might I add. Got an A). Take him if you can!!!
I absolutely loved this professor. I feel like he would bend over backwards to make sure the class understood the material, and his concern for the class was way more than I expected from a UCLA math professor. His tests are pretty lengthy, but extremely fair. He explains things very well, especially in office hours, and even then he won't hesitate to lecture on something that you didn't understand. Overall really nice guy with an appealing Greek accent. (Also an interesting/fun math class, might I add. Got an A). Take him if you can!!!
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