Professor
Daniel Fessler
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Most Helpful Review
First, the class itself. I took LS1 last quarter and decided I wanted to fufill my GE's with the easiest classes possible (at leats for Life Science). That is what I thought the class would be. While it is far easier than LS1, it is NOT and easy class. The material is interesting for a while, but not very applicable to anything unless you want to got into anthropology. My reccommendation, take this for a LS GE if you do better with short answer than you do multiple choice (his test are ALL short answer) and if you don't really care if you learn something super valuable for the future. Second, the prof...entertaining, though he gets a little out of control sometimes and talks very fast. By the lecture notes if they are avaliable but still GO TO LECTURE because they are very incomplete. Take you notes on the lecture notes because that way you will keep up and be able to write down the important info and not get hung up on the outline concepts. I would reccommend him, he cares about the students learning and seems to be very passionate about the subject.
First, the class itself. I took LS1 last quarter and decided I wanted to fufill my GE's with the easiest classes possible (at leats for Life Science). That is what I thought the class would be. While it is far easier than LS1, it is NOT and easy class. The material is interesting for a while, but not very applicable to anything unless you want to got into anthropology. My reccommendation, take this for a LS GE if you do better with short answer than you do multiple choice (his test are ALL short answer) and if you don't really care if you learn something super valuable for the future. Second, the prof...entertaining, though he gets a little out of control sometimes and talks very fast. By the lecture notes if they are avaliable but still GO TO LECTURE because they are very incomplete. Take you notes on the lecture notes because that way you will keep up and be able to write down the important info and not get hung up on the outline concepts. I would reccommend him, he cares about the students learning and seems to be very passionate about the subject.
Most Helpful Review
Dr. Fessler’s ANTHRO 19 class on animal cognition was pretty cool. We read a book called "Animals in Translation," which revolves around someone’s interpretation on how animals think. The book was interesting but largely unscientific--Dr. Fessler picked up for that in his presentations each week. He is a brilliant man with a lot to say about biological anthropology. He also has a sense of humor, and he does’t mind going on tangents on topics he finds interesting. Very cool professor and interesting class! Still find myself thinking about the things we learnt.
Dr. Fessler’s ANTHRO 19 class on animal cognition was pretty cool. We read a book called "Animals in Translation," which revolves around someone’s interpretation on how animals think. The book was interesting but largely unscientific--Dr. Fessler picked up for that in his presentations each week. He is a brilliant man with a lot to say about biological anthropology. He also has a sense of humor, and he does’t mind going on tangents on topics he finds interesting. Very cool professor and interesting class! Still find myself thinking about the things we learnt.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2017 - Good: very interesting class (life changing), questions given before exams to prepare, phenomenal TAs, very cheap textbook Bad: 8am, pop quizzes everyday, tremendous study load, could potentially hurt GPA Absolutely life changing class... as another person said this class will totally change the way you view yourself and the world because you learn the ultimate reasons why humans are the way they are; the information you learn in this course is priceless and I think everyone should take this class in general. However, Fessler does not mess around. He gives 1 question pop quizzes right at 8am almost every class (first quiz was the second lecture of week 1), the reading can be very dense and difficult, the study load is absolutely tremendous, and there are many concepts to know. He does give out potential exam questions before the midterm and the final. The knowledge is very interesting and life changing, but truthfully it could semi-hurt your GPA. I worked very hard, read everything, participated in discussion (with Brittnay), went to office hours, was above the curve for the first midterm, and still did not get an A. This was kind of frustrating given how much I was invested in the course and spent a lot of time studying for this class and I loved what I was learning; in the end my answers to the exams mostly were just incomplete. The TAs and Dr. Fessler cannot tell you if your answers to the study guide are incomplete or incorrect. I don't think his lectures were at all disorganized but what helped me is recording his lecture, then listening back and fill in my notes (best strategy is just to listen and absorb the information). This strategy helps the most because he is very intelligent and that kind of smartness is just too much sometimes at 8am. I don't know what I could have done differently to actually get an A (probably make friends with the smart people in class), but I DEFINITELY don't regret taking the course because I will use the information I learned probably for the rest of my life. "Knowledge is power, but not over other, but for yourself" -- Dan Fessler
Fall 2017 - Good: very interesting class (life changing), questions given before exams to prepare, phenomenal TAs, very cheap textbook Bad: 8am, pop quizzes everyday, tremendous study load, could potentially hurt GPA Absolutely life changing class... as another person said this class will totally change the way you view yourself and the world because you learn the ultimate reasons why humans are the way they are; the information you learn in this course is priceless and I think everyone should take this class in general. However, Fessler does not mess around. He gives 1 question pop quizzes right at 8am almost every class (first quiz was the second lecture of week 1), the reading can be very dense and difficult, the study load is absolutely tremendous, and there are many concepts to know. He does give out potential exam questions before the midterm and the final. The knowledge is very interesting and life changing, but truthfully it could semi-hurt your GPA. I worked very hard, read everything, participated in discussion (with Brittnay), went to office hours, was above the curve for the first midterm, and still did not get an A. This was kind of frustrating given how much I was invested in the course and spent a lot of time studying for this class and I loved what I was learning; in the end my answers to the exams mostly were just incomplete. The TAs and Dr. Fessler cannot tell you if your answers to the study guide are incomplete or incorrect. I don't think his lectures were at all disorganized but what helped me is recording his lecture, then listening back and fill in my notes (best strategy is just to listen and absorb the information). This strategy helps the most because he is very intelligent and that kind of smartness is just too much sometimes at 8am. I don't know what I could have done differently to actually get an A (probably make friends with the smart people in class), but I DEFINITELY don't regret taking the course because I will use the information I learned probably for the rest of my life. "Knowledge is power, but not over other, but for yourself" -- Dan Fessler
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2020 - This class was incredibly engaging, despite being taught through zoom at 8 am. Not only is the material fascinating, but Dr. Fessler is a great lecturer. Not sure why some of the reviews say the workload was heavy, since the only homework was coming up with two questions from the reading. I guess there were a lot of readings, but they usually were discussed in lecture and weren't too bad. This class is by no means easy, but if you really take an interest in the material, which is really easy to do, then the class will not be so difficult. One of my favorite classes at UCLA!
Fall 2020 - This class was incredibly engaging, despite being taught through zoom at 8 am. Not only is the material fascinating, but Dr. Fessler is a great lecturer. Not sure why some of the reviews say the workload was heavy, since the only homework was coming up with two questions from the reading. I guess there were a lot of readings, but they usually were discussed in lecture and weren't too bad. This class is by no means easy, but if you really take an interest in the material, which is really easy to do, then the class will not be so difficult. One of my favorite classes at UCLA!
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