OMG:
Everyone keeps scaring me about CS 245 with Toman. Is it really as bad as they say?
Everyone keeps scaring me about CS 245 with Toman. Is it really as bad as they say?
Posted on
Friday, July 6.
You can leave your response.
July 6, 2012 at 9:45 AM
Yes, it is absolutely as bad as its reputation. This will be one of the most confusing and frustrating courses in your university career.
That said the midterm/final are easier than the deadly assignments.
July 6, 2012 at 9:52 AM
Yes it's horrible. I found the final to be very difficult as well. The midterm wasn't so bad.
July 6, 2012 at 10:25 AM
Depends on how good the tutors are
July 6, 2012 at 10:50 AM
It's worse. You should brush up on logic beforehand, maybe.
July 6, 2012 at 12:01 PM
You will retain nothing from this course.
The final was open book.
The CS245 corner of PAC flipped madly through notes for the entire duration of the exam.
I sincerely hope for your success in this course. But do not feel ashamed if you fail this course. It won't be your fault.
http://www.reddit.com/r/uwaterloo/comments/nqahv/me_when_i_checked_my_cs245_mark_on_quest/
http://www.reddit.com/r/uwaterloo/comments/kd3lc/any_tips_for_a_2a_cs_student/
July 6, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Oh God.. you had to remind me.
Worst fucking course/instructor combo
July 6, 2012 at 12:13 PM
I had this course with Toman and Buss. It was actually quite good. I took a lot away from the course, and got a decent mark. It's not really that hard. Midterm and final both open book. If you know how to do structural induction and you understand proof-writing, you'll be fine.
July 6, 2012 at 12:30 PM
I got a 97 with him, no complaints. Sit towards the front of the class and his accent isn't that bad.
July 6, 2012 at 2:34 PM
This course isn't hard, but Tomas makes it really hard. I suggest attending tutorials and you should be able to do fine.
July 6, 2012 at 2:38 PM
I failed CS 245. Had no idea what was going on. When I took CS 245 again, it was ALOT clearer to me. Be warned This will prolly be the hardest course in your 2A
July 6, 2012 at 4:15 PM
Sad that it was so easy in 2008 and suddenly became an ass fuck in 2009.
July 6, 2012 at 4:48 PM
It's not so much that the course material is difficult, but that Toman is the most disorganized professor out there. Trying to pick out from his lectures what were supposed to be points of importance is quite the task. His notes on the board are useless and also hard to follow (center board to top of left board to bottom of right board to top of right board to bottom of left, etc, while arrows and random words and thrown in every once in a while).
July 6, 2012 at 4:52 PM
I am taking this course right now and find it to be a lot easier than what people are mentioning here. My prof is Omer Mirza Beg and from how people describe Toman, it looks like my prof is much better. Even though I might not take take anything useful from this course, at least I understand everything thats going on in class :)
July 6, 2012 at 7:16 PM
The course itself isn't that hard, it's just that Toman is the WORST prof I have ever had at UW. It's not just his accent, his notes and lectures are very disorganized. It's very hard to understand what's going on.
If it weren't for my awesome TAs I would have failed the course. I managed to finish with a 70 which was the biggest fluke ever.
July 6, 2012 at 11:20 PM
Wow- this was the easiest course I've ever taken- I mean out of all of my courses- not just CS. Who knew a prof could make such a big difference. I took it with the female (don't remember her name) and lots of people said she made it really easy. Maybe take it a different term when she's teaching?
July 6, 2012 at 11:28 PM
@Op: If you can switch into another class or take it at a later date, do it. I would really, really not suggest taking it now. I've heard people were able to get into CS240 or 241 without taking 245 first if they asked the CS Advisors about it since 245 isn't technically required at all. (You won't really learn anything in it that will help you in those courses.) Arguably any teacher that isn't Toman will teach it acceptably but don't even bother with Toman's class.
@7: It's not even always open-book. I think the tutors had to fight for an open-book exam because no one was retaining anything when I took 245 with Toman/Buss. We were only told about the midterm being open-book a day or two before it happened so I assume it was relatively last-minute and it probably isn't safe to assume all of their midterms are open-book.
July 7, 2012 at 10:17 AM
I took it during Fall 2011 with Buss/Toman. It was awful and it was NOT easy. The entire course was just a huge mess. Worst academic experience thus far, fuck them. I guess you haven't truly experienced Waterloo CS until you take a course with Toman....
July 7, 2012 at 10:22 AM
OP here - in Fall 2012, there's only 2 profs teaching it - I don't have Toman, I have Igor Ivkovic. Will that make any difference in how hard the course will be for me? All evaluations would be the same anyway... right? Maybe I should take something else.
July 7, 2012 at 1:13 PM
It is really not as bad as its reputation. Yes, it can be difficult at times, but I took the course last fall, and received a mark higher than my usual average. Just don't expect to be able to do the assignments the night before, and you will be fine.
July 8, 2012 at 2:11 AM
@18, hi, I'm in your class.
If you're a CS major, you'll definitely want to take 245 asap. Everything else requires it.
July 9, 2012 at 11:39 AM
HAY GUIZ IM IN CS, LOOK AT ME USE A COMPUTER, HERPA DERPA HERP.
July 10, 2012 at 6:34 PM
I took it with Buss. One of the worst experiences I've had at this university so far.
Prof terrible. Notes horrible. TAs practically taught the course.
Midterm was easy. Final was a killer open book, I just saw people flipping pages all over the place. I'm sure the average was below 50 (we got curved).