Rocco Servedio

I expected to learn about the mathematical principles underlying simple models of machine learning, and I was not disappointed. Prof. Servedio is an exceptionally clear lecturer who provides ample motivation for the ideas and strikes an excellent balance between high-level concepts and technical details. He is also extremely patient and responsive, typically writing elaborate responses to questions on Ed Discussion within hours. As cliché as it may sound, it is evident that he truly wants everyone to succeed. Everything good about him that I see mentioned on this site is true, and I strongly recommend this course for its content.

I'm much more luke-warm about our man. He's find, but I wouldn't go out of my way to say that he's the best. The biggest problem of his class is that he's too accommodating as in that his class is quite easy, compared to what you can find online, proved by the medians of the last couple assignments being 86.5-87. Another thing is that the TCS department at Columbia is no-kidding the best STEM department at Columbia, so, in comparison, I just can't say that Rocco is the best prof I've had. But, compared to any other department, yea, he is very very good, hands down.

Great topics course from a great professor. Rocco is great at concrete complexity! Comprehensive survey of different low-level computational models (Boolean formulas, decision trees, branching programs, and constant depth circuits) and representative lower bounds in each model. We used communication complexity, linear algebra, and Fourier analysis of the hypercube as tools throughout. He proved all the results he presented, which was impressive: usually it is hard to present state-of-the art results due to the length of the proofs. Very convincing and thorough.

First, let me preface this by saying that I'll probably fail this class. I have regularly scored at least one standard deviation below the mean (talk about mistake-bounded), and the midterm isn't a significant component of the course. However... My goodness, Rocco is an utterly incredible professor. The absolute best in the entire Columbia CS department, and - I'd reckon - the best professor in the entire school. I mean, he completely puts all the other professors to shame with how good he is. A class with Rocco is what you were promised when you first heard the term "Ivy league education." Columbia should sell a building or something if it means they get to keep Rocco Servedio forever; that's how good he is. Everyone below has talked about the actual course material and whether you should take this particular course, so I'll not go too much into that. What I'll say is that if you have even an inkling of an interest in theory, just take whatever Rocco is teaching. Actually, I think he should teach a teaching seminar for the other professors and teaching assistants at Columbia. He's splendid all round, in all phases of teaching. The Lionel Messi of Columbia TCS.

DEFINITELY the BEST professor I ever had at Columbia. At the same time, he was definitely the HARDEST professor I ever had at Columbia. I took computational complexity last semester and it was the hardest class I had taken. However, because he was such a great professor, I decided to take computational learning theory, and now i can say that that is the hardest class I've ever taken. However, if you're not afraid to face the challenge, you will find that he is an excellent teacher, and you will definitely learn a lot. I definitely don't consider myself a very motivated learner, but I think the hard work was worth it for these classes.

Sporadic homework (10%) Scribe notes for one class (30%) Final project (40%)

Crystal-clear teaching style. Honestly the best teaching style I've seen so far. He also answers questions with clarity and will help you the best way he can. However, the coursework is difficult and homeworks are challenging. I would take this class again, but only if I balanced it with other easier classes.

BY FAR the best professor I have had at Columbia. His lectures are very ogranized and he really makes an attempt to explain everything. He is a sincerely nice guy and actually cares whether or not his students understand the material. Some of the stuff covered in this course is really complex, but he is able to break it down to make it more understandable. He likes when students ask questions in class and he really tries to make sure he answers them sufficiently. He tries to get to know the names of all his students. His office hours are really helpful...they were always packed when I took this class. In a nutshell...this guy is awesome.

In short, Rocco is the best professor I had in Columbia so far. He is kind, clear, and intelligent. He made a difficult subject accessible and interesting. That said, if you hate proofs and theory, maybe this class is not for you, but this is not his fault. He already tried his best to focus on the concept rather than the details. I don’t think that the class has no applications. It’s basically an algorithm class, but on algorithms that can learn. If you think algorithms have no real world application, then I am not sure what to say. It’s cool to see that a seemingly simple-minded algorithm can learn complex concepts well, on par with humans (maybe it is how human brains work). The homework takes a long time, so start early so that you have enough time to get help. He won’t tell you the solution directly, but at least can tell you if you are on the right track. A lot of times, people are just completely off the track because they have misconceptions. For me, I think part of the homework difficulty comes from my unfamiliarity with the area, so the 3rd and 4th homeworks turned out more difficult for me, but by the end of the last (5th) homework, I had already seen enough proof strategies that they became a bit like old tricks (I’m not saying they are easy, but just more familiar to me). As a previous post said, the final project turned out to be an educational experience for me.…

HWs take a lot of thinking but there are also only 4 of them. It's not a hard class if you are willing to put in the time. 60% HW + 20% Midterm + 20% Final. Exams all take-home. Time commitment hard to estimate: most of the problems are either you get it or you dont. I was stuck on this one question for a couple of days and that's all I did for those days, so, hard to say.