class taken: LS30B

Dr. Garfinkel was ingenius in his delivery of the material. As many have mentioned below, the concepts that he covered were not easy: we covered chaos theory, linear algebra, nonlinear dynamics and a bit of multivariable calculus. We also used a mathematics program called Sage, which we used to create dynamical models and used recursive algorithms to predict long-term behaviors of such models.

The reason why this class was not 'difficult', is because this class is not meant to trick you to provide a certain percentage of students with As, or a certain percentage of students with A+s. This class is meant to TEACH you, and to help you value your education. The class itself was incredible. I feel that what I have learned in the class will be at the background of every class that I will ever take in college, and I will always keep these concepts in mind. The class met twice a week for about two hours per day in the afternoon. At first, I hated this. Why would anyone have class in the afternoon, right? Well, this didn't turn out to be bad at all. Dr. Garfinkel would hold his office hours right after class in the same lecture hall (La Kretz 110, which is conveniently located near the Bombshelter) for as long as people would stay. Unlike his Bruinwalk ratings for availability, he was VERY available. I guess the only downside was that he would not respond to his emails often, probably because he would be finding a new cure for cancer or something. Yeah, he's incredible.

The students in the class were very cool, and very engaged in the material. We had pretty good class-time discussions when people would ask questions, and Dr. Garfinkel would encourage students to ask questions, which is pretty uncommon for professors to do (Mr. Henary in chemistry lab would actually rush through students' questions and not answer them nicely, implying that their question was stupid). No matter how stupid your question is, to Dr. Garfinkel, it's a great question, and it really helps encourage you to learn.

Whoops, this got a little bit too long. I'll continue next time (I'll tag myself as [Garfinkel is Incredible] somewhere in the post if I do continue). TOODLES.

YES!!! The guy! I loved him@@ I didn't have the guts to ask him his name, but he was so helpful! :)

LS30B was a great class! I loved the professor's teaching method, and his way of inspiring students! He also gave very little homework that made us think, instead of making us do busy work. The homework problems were very little, but I think they were very helpful for the exams. Take LS30B!!

easily THE BEST professor at UCLA. He truly values student learning, and although he doesn't reply to his emails often, you can tell that he genuinely cares about enriching your educational experience. His lectures are absolutely fantastic, and are a great way to end your day. He is brilliant, and the course material is fascinating. Take ls30b!

class taken: LS30!

I was super worried about taking this class because of the computer programming and linear algebra aspect of it, but Professor Garfinkel makes the class SUPER awesome. He's the best professor that I've ever had at ucla, and I'm definitely taking his dynamic modeling class in the fall.

Actual class taken: LS30b

so I recently heard that Professor Garfinkel's bruinwalk page is working, so here's my review of this amazing individual.

first and foremost, you need very minimal knowledge of mathematics to do well in his class. what does that mean? It means that he will teach you everything from the ground up. everything from the quadratic formula to matrix transformations. he doesn't want you to mindlessly memorize formulas. he makes you UNDERSTAND the core concepts if he wants you to memorize anything at all. the way he lectures is absolutely brilliant, and I haven't seen one student sleep during his lectures. he is incredibly charismatic as many of the reviewers below have mentioned.

one thing that may set you off, is that he is virtually unreachable via email. this is not because he doesnt care about you. quite the contrary, actually. he values student learning and progress more than anything. he WANTS you to be able to leave his classroom to make a difference in the world. he's unreachable via email because he has a deluge of emails from a bunch of people wanting his attention. your best bet in reaching him is via his office hours or better yet, reach out to his hand-picked T/As. his teaching assistants are among the best at ucla that l've had so far.

regarding grades, his class is only as easy as how much you strive to understand the material. no class is really "easy" at ucla, and this class is no exception. this fact does not warrant you to lower his rating, simply because he's not an "easy" professor. Professor Garfinkel is one of the best professors at ucla, and you will see once you take his class. his midterm and final are fairly difficult, but go to his review sessions (yes, he has review sessions).

overall, he was the best professor that i've ever had at ucla.