This class is great because it introduces a lot of concepts but most importantly really sharpens your problem-solving skills.
> The method we tend to use in 251 is throwing you deep into the water without a paddle (i.e., giving you very basic definitions for a new topic you haven't seen and expecting you to solve things that you might be given in a course dedicated to that topic in say the third week). We do this over and over, pretty much starting from scratch on a new topic every week. As a result, it can be very frustrating—which, of course, is the intention. If you're constantly trying to solve things that are just outside of your reach, you develop better strategies for thinking about problems you're given.
> The method we tend to use in 251 is throwing you deep into the water without a paddle (i.e., giving you very basic definitions for a new topic you haven't seen and expecting you to solve things that you might be given in a course dedicated to that topic in say the third week). We do this over and over, pretty much starting from scratch on a new topic every week. As a result, it can be very frustrating—which, of course, is the intention. If you're constantly trying to solve things that are just outside of your reach, you develop better strategies for thinking about problems you're given.