Michael Thaddeus

Professor Michael Thaddeus is a great lecturer. Although he does get into some random details sometimes, he actually EXPLAINS the topics and gives a lot of examples and intuition for understanding them. He adds a couple lectures for logic at the beginning of the class which is really helpful since Modern Algebra I is the first proof-base math class for a lot of people. He really emphasizes the idea of learning > grades, which I think was really helpful for my learning experience (and I did end up getting a good grade). Professor Thaddeus does not allow electronics in class, so all notes are hand written, so prepare a physical notebook!

Biggest downside about his teaching: he seems to not understand what to spend time on and what not to. He spent way too much time on proving trivial things and rementioning trivial definitions over and over (like saying what a claim as part of a proof meant for like 5+ times, but wouldn't spend time formally define equivalence classes; he also "left" many non-trivial statements as "exercises." I know time is limited for the semester, but he could simply leave some trivial statements out or write more intuitive definitions [his statement about DeMorgan's law is the most involuted, non-intuitive version that I have ever seen written down, and it is long. he could have saved time by writing down simpler less non-intuitive definitions and all]). The problem of this teaching style is: it doesn't seem to matter if you spent a lot of time carefully remembering what he says in class, it matters more spending time looking up alternative definitions that he didn't say. It comes to a point where only two kinds of people are doing better: 1. people who already know topology and only signed up to have an "easy class"; 2. people who spend a lot of time reading textbooks (sometimes even including saving such time for reading textbooks from not paying attention to class. But again, Thaddeus is also terrible for coming up with his words. There are many times it was hard to find alternative def…

The actual content in this course isn't bad, you just might have to do a lot of the learning yourself/with a TA because the lectures are generally pretty hard to understand. I feel like I once read a glowing review of Thaddeus which said that he's the kind of professor that math majors love and everybody else hates, and I think that's really accurate. Unfortunately, I am not a math major. This class is really frustrating if you don't care a whole lot about math, and I'd still recommend calculus because it slays a little, but maybe with another professor. That said, if you're a math major looking to take Calc 1, this is your guy. He's very cool and really loves math. He also has great hair.

Michael Thaddeus is amazing! I would say it is slightly more work than other linear classes but totally worth it for engaging lectures, super helpful notes to copy on the blackboard, homeworks that reinforce concepts and stretch you a bit, and not bad exams. Exception: don't take it with him if you hate (informal) proofs.

This semester is single-variable calculus and some linear algebra from a rigorous standpoint. If you are interested in applications of math and not proofs, this is not the class for you. He freely admits that he doesn't care about the former. If you want to be a math major, take this class so you can tell early on whether you actually want to have 3.5 more semesters of abstraction. This course is based on Apostol. This is not the best textbook out there (maybe second-best) if you want a deep and rigorous understanding of single-variable calculus, although it works. I'd prefer a different choice, but it's what Columbia has at the moment, and it works fine. Thaddeus is an awesome lecturer. A number of people dropped the class but came to classes anyway just to hear him speak. He is engaging, funny, thorough, and excellent at explaining things. He's also quite friendly and receptive to questions, as long as they are not stupid ones. I know that a large number of people will disagree with me on this one, but the class is not as hard as anyone else says it is, at least if you've ever seen a proof before. The psets, the midterms, and the final are all pretty easy, although somehow the median on the final was a 57/100. Given that this is the course recommended to math majors and supposedly the hardest math course available to freshmen here, I hoped that this would be really hardcore,…

Oh my god. I usually read Culpa reviews of teachers I've had so I can see how credible Culpa actually is. This is the first time where I completely disagree with mose of the reviewers. Perhaps Math Majors love him, but I concentrate in math and I thought he was God awful. GOD AWFUL! For one, he failed so many people. His "curve" was nonexistent (and it's not like Jorgenson's Calc classes where a Curve wasn't needed...you could get a C-/D after studying for days). His tests were rididuclous. His teaching strategy was awful seeing as how he rushed through each topic and expected you to just understand what he was saying. I do NOT recommend him AT ALL!!! I pity the fool that takes Mr. T.

Very important course to learn ring, field, Galois Theory.

I think the course might be tough without some geometric intuition. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2021 Course: MATHGR6261_001_2021_3-COMMUTATIVEALGEBRA : MATHGR6261_001_2021_3 - COMMUTATIVE ALGEBRA Instructor: Johan De Jong

Thaddeus is a really *interesting* guy. He would start every lecture by making us all scream for five seconds to open up our voices because he didn't want us to raise our hands to ask questions. His actual teaching was hit or miss. He spent a lot of time on details and was very nitpicky about foundations while rushing through big picture concepts about a lot of the later topics. I didn't feel like I learned a lot from his lectures but was just scrambling to write everything down. Homework assignments was where I actually sat down and learned the material. They were pretty good preparation for the exams.

i have taken 5 classes with thaddeus (too bad he went on sabbatical senior year, otherwise i might have taken more). these five semesters of "thaddeology" have helped me build a very rigorous and exciting foundation for studying higher math, and also introduced me to one particular way of thinking and talking about math. thaddeus is a very nice guy (i'm writing this because there seem to be many people who find him a little intimidating, but don't worry), very willing to answer your questions, and lectures very clearly. he encourages class participation, asking questions to the audience, and creating a question-friendly atmosphere. he lectures with notes, but not from a book, and organizes his presentations very well so that they are not that hard to follow. he is very available during office hours: i remember him answering my silly set-theory questions freshman year with the same patience as the (probably equally stupid) questions about serre duality or sheaf cohomology later on. honors 3+4: his lectures were vey engaging, and this definitely turned several students into math majors. thaddeus is a very eloquent speaker, and this actually helped my english as much as lithum did. although the lectures were fast (or so we thought), they were very funny at times: at the end of first semester, he read poetry to us, and at the end of second semester, he gave away fig newtons and le…