Ostrovsky is obviously a very accomplished, intelligent, and incredible computer scientist. His contributions to the field are immense—very obvious when he mentions an algorithm and says he once skied with its inventor.

However, he is an absolutely horrible lecturer.

Just yesterday, he asked us to review him nicely on course evaluations and on Bruinwalk because he spent a lot of time revamping this course to be more accessible. I appreciate that, and don't doubt that he spent a lot of time making this course better for us. He truly is a nice guy, very approachable, and cracks hilarious jokes to lift our spirits.

Unfortunately, I've got to say the truth—he isn't a good lecturer. He makes everything more confusing and spends too much time fussing about which marker works the best. He goes through at least 20 markers each lecture. Reading material online, on YouTube, and even the book taught me more about algorithms than him. Again, this is not a personal indictment on Ostrovsky—I love the guy, but teaching isn't for everyone.

Tecot screams incompetency. I went to his first discussion and left halfway. I could not bear listening to him scribble on his iPad with utter nonsense.

Instead, I started to (virtually, since I had a conflict) attend Levine's discussions. Absolute masterclass in discussions. Very approachable, nice, structured mini-lectures that filled in the gaps where Ostrovsky left to be desired. He should be the lecturer, not Ostrovsky in my opinion.