Mixed feelings about Tamir.. but in the end he isn't bad.

tips:

1) don't stress about the hw. do it, of course. But if you get stumped dont stress because it's worth close to nothing. don't bother going to office hours before the hw is due though.. it's pretty worthless. just turn in as much as you can do and REVIEW THE SOLUTIONS AFTER. If you still dont get it office hours might help.. but before he posts the solutions he isn't going to help you or nudge you in the right direction. It's pretty frustrating.

2) for the exams, REVIEW THE HOMEWORK and the solutions. He makes the exam average 70% and the curve is pretty generous for course grades.

3) i heard he reuses homework.. but old hws wont really help that much at the end because hw isnt worth that much of the grade and he posts solutions to hw so you can study for the final and mt.

4) lectures are actually worth attending but if you miss them it isnt a big deal. He took time out of lectures to talk about grad school (he prepared slides about it) and twice he did "advanced" topics that were just fyi.

Great lecturer, very organized and knowledgeable - I learned so much in his class. Also, he is willing to take questions and tries to explain things to you until you understand it. Homework assignments were difficult, but it helped me learn a lot of the material. MT and final are similar to his homework problems - study those and the diagrams he goes over in class. If you have trouble with any concepts or homework, go to his office hours. He may seem intimidating, but he truly cares and is willing to talk with you. I recommend taking any class with him.