<p>okay no, the issue between Abdullah and Richards is not that one follows the textbook. I know Richards apparently hasn’t read the textbook. But Abdullah will also put questions on the exam that aren’t text-related.</p>
<p>The difference between Richards and Abdullah is that Richards gives problem sets. And most people who took his class seemed to think he was a pretty okay lecturer and the notes they took were helpful. I went to Abdullah’s class for about a month - so, give or take eight classes - and realized they were a COMPLETE waste of time. I seriously did not go to lecture for the entire rest of the semester - I just read the textbook, went to recitation, where the TA “cleared some things up” and then gave us a weekly quiz, then showed up to lecture when we had midterms. I got a B+ overall. Also, I took an International Trade course this summer that actually had Intermediate Micro and Macro as prerequisites - neither of which I’d taken - and found that I actually had a really good base in those principles just from reading the Ec 5 textbook (which, btw, is very clear and good). The PROBLEM with the class is that because there were no problem sets, I’m an IR/Econ major who’s going to start taking Micro, Macro, Stat, etc without ever having done problem sets, which I think puts me at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>So, if you’re continuing with Econ and think that it would be a good idea to practice principles w/problem sets, take it with Richards. If you would prefer just not going to lecture and can trust yourself to read the text assiduously, go for Abdullah.</p>
<p>Irony: Abdullah teaches at Harvard, lol.</p>