I took this class as P/NP and I am really sad I made that choice. I attended a total of 4 lectures before the midterm and pulled a 99%. I wrote the 7-page research paper the night before and got a B+. I studied for a total of three hours for the final and walked away knowing I could not have gotten anything less than an A. Did I mention I stopped going to class after the midterm? This is a joke of a class, and not because the material is not interesting (it really is intriguing), but because his lectures are incredibly boring and hard to follow, the readings remind me of a middle school textbook, and you do not have to attend classes to get that A+ you're looking for. I honestly wish I'd known this prior to taking the class so I could have walked away with a GPA booster instead of a "passed". It is really sad though because he really knows what he is talking about - he just can't connect with his students and has this glazed look while teaches. It is almost as if he forgets he has an audience and stands at the front of the room rambling on to himself.

Terrible lecturer. I don't usually post...actually I don't think I have ever rated a professor. But this man was the worst professor I have had yet. And I feel kind of bad because he is really a nice man but his class is mind-bogglingly hard to follow. He talks as if he was writing a really bad intellectual paper- like the kind that talk in circles all the while using big words so it sounds better. But in his case, he is very versed in the subject but just cannot communicate his thoughts succinctly. I was often so lost as to what he was talking about while expending extraneous efforts to understand him. So needless to say, though he seems like a really nice person, I would not suggest taking his class under any circumstances.

I pretty much had no idea what was going on during class most of the time. Lectures were really boring and I always fell asleep during them. I did manage to get a B without going to lectures and barely studing for the midterm and final. The paper was pretty hard to do, but was doable.

Very nice and easy going professor. He doesn't make things too hard and uses humor to lighten up the atmosphere. However, the lectures are very boring and since the lights are dimmed low you're gonna have to make an extra effort to stay awake. But the grading is very good, one paper, one deciphering problem (easy), and a final, no midterm. Easy A.

Worst professor I've ever had. His lectures are like a slow and painful death. Nothing makes sense, and you are lucky if you comprehend anything at all or walk out more knowledgeable than when you came in. Don't take this class if you just want a GE. If you are interested in deciphering dead languages and making sense of ancient writing systems, then this could possibly be your playground. But still, his lectures are disorganized and senseless. Impossible to follow. His lecture style is more like a convoluted, meshed-together dream he's having and verbalizing out loud. Worst lecturer and worst class I have ever experienced here at UCLA.