Which physics professor should I take?

NeoDymium
Sun, 07 Jul 2013 15:21:02 +0000

Go with A, at least for one semester.

I had a “notoriously difficult” physics professor for mechanics, and I can’t say it was the most pleasant experience I’ve ever had. There were definitely a few tricks of the trade here and there that improved my understanding of physics - but that’s all they were, little tricks. You learn a few better ways to think about problems, a few more “kosher” techniques for solving them, and do a lot more work. With notoriously difficult professors, there is a VERY serious case of diminishing marginal returns for the effort you put in.

I took an online physics class for physics E&M, and pretty much learned that through self-study. Admittedly, my understanding of physics E&M is weaker for it (doesn’t help that I’ve never really needed to use it because E&M hardly ever comes up for me). But honestly, if I spent 3-4 hours a day for a single week brushing up on the topic (with a bit of Google searching mixed in for those “tricks of the trade” that I missed out on), my understanding would be just as good. That mountain of effort equates to about one week of dedicated practice worth of additional knowledge.

Nevertheless, take professor A. Why? Simply because you need to get used to that kind of workload. Sooner or later you’ll have to take a not-so-pleasant class, and it’s easier to get used to that kind of work in community college instead of in a higher-level university course.