2.1
Quality4.0
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake147
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
147
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
19
4
12
3
17
2
37
1
62
What Students Say
“A difficult class is even worse with a horrible prof”
MATH141 - 2.0 rating“Brown has truly passed his prime, if he had one”
MATH140 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.70 avg changeRatings by Course
222
5.0
(1)329
5.0
(1)329348
5.0
(1)18924034
5.0
(1)MATH140AN
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
141
5.0
MATH144
5.0
CALII
5.0
LINEAR
5.0
CALC141
5.0
Reviews (147)
not clear about material;exams are damn hard
Hez older than time... ur stuck with him buddies
The idear is.... I'm not a good teacher
He's not that bad, although his posture is really strange.
Good teacher, your right about the posture though
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very helpful, not the best at explaining things during lectures but will always
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A nice guy, and lots of help during office hours. Not so great during lectures!
very very nice man. but the exams will kill you.
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Very nice person, and very helpful. Prereq: you have to really love Math.
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Very boring for 8:30 AM, but likes calculus, and is willing to help.
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by far the easiest math class in my 4 years at mcgill. thanks will!
terrible lectures...no point in going....
so crappy
material not easy or hard to understand, but the final will blow your mind about how ridiculously hard it is sure there are bell curves, that is the only way SOME people survive likes math, but is scattered when explaining things, didn't find class usef
"as the values of x get arbitrarily small...our brains get arbitrarily obsolete".
good prof.
SO USELESS! What's this guy doing teaching an intro course? Lectures are pointless. Rumour has it that he's been on probabation for years.
Incredibly boring lecturer but deceptively intelligent. Although a large part of his lectures were pointless, I attended as many as possible. Did crazy hard problems sometimes. Also, his classes are a great venue for socializing. Many good times had.
This man is unable to convey the simplest of concepts. He is knowledgeable, but should under no circumstances, be teaching. He has been on probation for good reasons.
it'san easy classsince it's cal 1, but he is a bad prof. you wont learn anything from him, going to class is useless. dont let his crazy examples scary you. introductory math courses are always curved:)
He starts proofs only to leave us hanging...
"but you won't have to solve problems like these in any undergraduate calculus course". ARGH.
Absolutely horrible. Its better to wake up at 830 to go to the other lecture
Frankenstien is alive!!!!!!!
Easy quizzes, webwork assignments. Class at times seems REALLY long, and it doesn't get much worse than 2 hour tutorials. Competent lecturer. Not very approachable, to put it diplomatically.
horid teacher. dont bother forcing yourself to go to class. i learned more from the textbook in 25 minutes than he could teach me in an hour and a half of pure hell (ie his lecture). get a tutor!
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as boring as it gets
Booooring. He explains parabolas because "this course assumes you don't know about functions" then skips multiple steps in complicated derivations. Hard exams.
the worst prof i have ever had. I would rather put hot pokers in my eyes than spend an hour and half with that man
Well, he's much better than the AM class. Could be the time though. He knows the stuff, and brings in materials from other textbooks. Wastes too much time on things "you don't need to know". Very clear, and answers questions well.
i went to three lectures and couldnt take his voice any longer
This man makes me want to commit academic suicide. What kind of a school sticks these two math profs with first year students?... The best in Canada apparently. ridiculous.
the lectures are pretty good,and the assignments and midterm are not too bad, but the final exam he made it very hard.
The calculus students don't know how good they have it. He is undoubtedly the best overall professor in the math department that I've ever had. The people who complain about him are most likely biology students who think learning is memorization.
Trust me. Nothing in the world can be worse than his class...
Brown's ok once u get to know him, ppl who give him bad ratings are obviously NOT math students. In comparison to other math profs (loveys,makkai) Brown rocks da house. He does slither like a turlte around Schulich,but every prof had their little oddities. Scores points 4 being friends with Vermes
great prof...period.
Seems to really like math, seems to be a nice guy, yet absolutely fails to inspire me at calculus, which is interesting considering that I loved it last year. Hard though to be a good calc. student at 6 at night. Spends waaay to much time on stuff that we don't need to know.
i cant say how hard the class is because we never get marked. he's a really nice guy, easy to get in touch with and will always help... but in class sounds like a computer and doesnt always make sense
Compared to some of the other math profs I've had, and to McGill professors in general, he's a great guy. Helpful, lectures clearly, isn't too hard at the marking. As long as you realize that it's a tough course, you'll do fine.
Absolutely unbelivably......weird.. nothing u see on the texbooks will ever appear on the exam.... he makes a math course into an english....he uses weird words and wants u to rite essays on exams
great, helpful, clear. Definately recommend him.
Makes the class quite boring. He doesn't even use microphone in front of hundreds of students in the big auditorium. I never went to it again after the first 2 lectrues. Assignments, quizzes, and the final exam of MATH140 are easy if you really understand the material but are very hard if you don't.
If I get to fire anyone in Mcgill, he would be one of the few ppl.
Couldn't keep awake
I agree with the person who said that they feel as though this professor should NOT be teaching at McGill or any other university for that matter. His exams don't appropriately reflect the content of the course etc... I advise to do ANYTHING you can to get out of taking any of his courses.
He is the worst professor I've ever had! Why hasn't McGill fired him yet?
AMAZING! I love this class, and he makes it so interesting. He is very straightforward, listens, moves at a reasonable pace, and is just an overall nice guy. I don't understand how people can say he's awful because he's a great prof, and definitely the best math prof i've ever had at McGill.
STAY CLEAR OF THIS PROF'S CLASSES....SERIOUSLY YOU WOULD BE BETTER OFF JUST SHOOTING YOURSELF.
Best prof I've had in the Math department. The class is a killer, but he's nice, helpful, and explains everything clearly. His notes are too good.....he spent hours making them, but they are so helpful. Overall, take him, take this course (if you want an interesting but hard course), and enjoy it.
He speaks in math jargon, always is completely unclear, and never actually explains how to do a question in basic terms. Don't go to class, it will only confuse you. You may expect to pass his class "iff" (if and only if) you can find a tutor.
Brown never makes you feel stupid for asking a question. Very nice guy. Math profs are always a little insane.
at first class seemed like a waste, but if you go sort of knowing whats going on hes great and goes nice and slow so youre sure to understand. can be a bit dull but math is sometimes-hes very helpful aswell and takes any questions
Simply put, he's horrible
quite possibly the worst professor iv ever had. he doesnt teach very well and by the end of the semester there were 30 kids showing up, out of 300 registered. hes just that bad
He keeps telling students what they should do to study the subject and I sometimes felt that he was rambling on. His lectures often look more like a self-management class than a math class. However, I like that kind of slow-pace teaching. Brown is very structured and his notes are very helpful. If you take his class, read ALL HIS NOTES!
His Calc 1 DESTROYED 99% of the class.... His classes were extremely unhelpful ~ so much that it hurt me to sit in on them and listen to him... He says he going to teach calculus from the very beginning but then keeps saying we should know everything and that there's no need for him to go over them.... THE WORST PROFESSOR IN THE WORLD!!!! :@
you know what?? i actually liked Brown. i didn't like him at the begining though. His final exam was fair enough. You will do well in his class if you go over his notes. He is also very helpful.
i think i'm one of the very few who is a brown fan. his exams are definitely fair, he's kind of a time-waster though. he's much better as a 2 day teacher w/ longer classes then as a 3 day teacher.
Hated the course beyond words, but it really was not his fault. The course was structured awfully and he openly admitted that the web assignments had nothing to do with the content he was teaching. Would have liked to had him as a teacher for something I loathed a tad less, he probably would have had a better impression on me
One of my most favourite and the most respected Profs. Always with great patient to help every student. He is also a supper nice prof., with the extremely gentle behaviors and great care for students. He always offers me supper nice help with not only on math, but also on the language, and even the life at Montreal.
his lecture is useless...
The subject of math is boring to all but few...so it's not really the fault of the professor if the class isn't the most exciting in the world. The only reason people don't attend lectures is because all the info is in the book...but if you go back over his posted notes he goes over it just as well. Dont listen to the haters
WORST PROFESSOR EVER!!! He's horrible and an ****. He doesn't even let the people who fail get free ice cream at Frostbites. He has no soul! His classes are useless. He doesn't derserve to teach.
What can you say about this class??? It sucks so bad... Though the prof was trying to be helpful enough... his exams.. extremely crazy... to tell truth, hate his teaching !!!!!
Hmmm.... I have no idea wht happened in the last 3 and a half months, i have no comprehension of the class... shattered motivation and above all i am changing my concentration.. For other people taking this class, unless you could teach yourslelf complicated mathematics..dont bother
Worst teacher ever !!! Useless lectures. What he teaches in class is different from what is in his exam. Avoid him at all cost
Can't believe he's still a professor at mcgill!!!!!!! I studied so hard for this class and I failed, even though I did all this stuff in high school. Make sure you do well on the assignments and quizzes, otherwise you'll get an F.
This man should retire! In fact, he should have never started teaching in the first place! He's so grumpy and unhelpful. He's the exact deifinition of "it's us VS them". Avoid him by a margin.
What an evil man! Avoid his class at all cost. You will not be graded on how much you know but on other things such as how well you did on quizzes. He is absolutely confusing. Does not know how to teach.
Very good prof. Some people do not him is because they do like calculus. Really nice, patient, and treat you as his children. You can ask any questions, a really detail and patient response will back to you. True, his exam is hard sometimes, but, suppose you try hard and do problem yourself, you should not be in trouble in this course.
His notes are confusing and sometimes right out of the math textbook... what about his teaching? boring boring.. fell asleep most of times.. And OMG his exams are so freaking hard and out of no where.. Seriously avoid him at any cost!!!!!!! Man, you should retire.. seriously
Great prof but hard final!
Wow...Brown is the worst math prof I've ever had in my life!!! Doesn't teach, goes on tangents...shows things you "don't need to know" for the final exam. He refers you to textbook (b/c he can't finish examples in class). In an hour and a half, he can do at most 3-4 examples. Terrible, did not learn a thing from him. Brutal final exam. Worth 86%!!
Terrible! This was the worst class ever. He just rambles on and never digresses about anything. I had to teach myself. Everybody is lost half way through. Very unapproachable. He sets the exam so that most people will fail and then curves it. It makes you feel awful because you think you failed. He killed my interest of math.
he doesn't really teach, is on probation for all the students taking the class. i'd recommen d if u take 141 that u do it in the summer or somewhere else. it is a GPA buster
Absolutely terrible! Only take a class with him if you're prepared to learn the material on your own and write a ridiculous final worth either 70 or 90%. Last final had an average of about 60% among the students that PASSED! About a quarter of students failed. AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Not so difficult a course, but Brown goes out of his way to makeit so
Doesn't use a mic in class, despite large auditorium and constant talking from students, so sit close to the front. His notes online are actually helpful if you take the time to look at them, also if you send him emails with specific questions he is always prompt in responding and tries to give you an in-depth answer. GO TO TUTORIALS! EVERY TIME!
I did what he couldn't: I taught myself all of cal 2. He's the worst prof I've encountered by far and I love math! He made it a nightmare. No need to say more.
People who failed please blame yourself but not the professor. Remember how many people actually did get 100%. He is a great professor, very approachable, very nice and helpful. It is McGill, the Medical School who ordered to kill us but absolutely not him. Do NOT comment an innocent prof with the impact of the brutal grading system of McGill.
I never went to class. Ever. Too sleep-inducing. Definitely review the example problems explained in his online notes- many times the quiz questions are extremely similar. I got an A in the class, but I won't lie, you have to pretty much teach yourself.
ridiculously boring, teaches things you don't need to know
Got an A in both 140-141 although I'm sure this has to do with his grade adjustments as I left the 141 exam in tears. He cannot teach a class: the few examples he does in class are always incomplete and he just refers you to his notes. He is also rude if you go to his office hours. Hire a tutor, it's the only way you'll pass. Avoid him at all costs
Horrible prof... so uninteresting and boring..spends hours on thing u "eill not need to know for this course...or the next course...maybe the one after that..." you gotta teach urself..
This prof is so bad I feel as those who gave him good ratings chose the wrong Brown. Worst math teacher I could ever imagine, actually made me confuse things I had known before I arrived. He knows math, but he complicates it SO much. He encourages questions, then when he's asked, he often says the question is obvious and won't answer. Stay away.
Why do you have office hours if you don't show up in your office?!! And he lied about having no solutions to any of the past final exams. He hid them on page 2000-something in the online course outline. I think he has something against the world, and I wish he would hurry up and retire.
Wow, Brown I can say is the worst prof I've ever had. I had him for both Math 140 and Math 141 last year...only reason I took him twice was b/c other class was at 8:35am. I don't think you can even say he teaches. Difficult exam, very unclear and vast on his examples in class, and always refers you to his notes. Practice is key for this class.
I seriously left this guy's class worse off than I was coming in. He takes something you know and mangles it. Then he spends half the class talking about random crap that you wont need for his exam, while telling you that there isn't enough time to review or finish any legitimate problems. Horrible prof, avoid his class if you can!!
Terrible. Worst prof in 1st year science. Exam had no part marks, where students were told during the exam about the marking scheme. Avoid at ALL costs. Absolute D****BAG.
Agree with the poster below. I was in the other section with the other prof but I still had to deal with Brown because he writes the exam for everyone.. there was NO way to study for that. I did every single practice problem in the book, no lower then 95% on webwork and nothing other then an A in the quizzes and I still came out in tears! AVOID
Awful prof. I dont know what the exam tried to accomplish, but it definately was not trying to evaluate us on our knowledge. I pray hes not writing the exam for math 222 next semester
Horrible, horrible prof. Wastes hours in class going on about stupid theoretical stuff completely useless for the class, and spends no time on examples regarding concepts you are supposed to learn. Even if you do manage to teach yourself the learning outcomes through the book etc,the exam is impossible. Don't stress too much...it always gets curved
WORST. PROF. EVER!!!! lectures are about as useful as listening to a stick talk about math for 1.5 hrs. Actually less. The only reason I passed was due to the HUUUUGGGE curve. AVOID!!
worst prof ever. Not clear at all and the final was BS!! How anyone could say anything positive about this guy I don't know. Do anything you can to avoid taking his class
The exam was just brutal. End of story. I came out of the exam laughing- because it was either that or cry.
The Calculus 2 final exam for winter 2008 was the most ridiculous thing ever! For most people, it was their first exam and it was just impossible. I was in the morning class, but still had to suffer Brown because he sets up all the webwork, quizzes, and exams. His final was unnecessarily cruel!
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Always went to the other section because his lectures were so bad
I just wrote the math final. All i can say is, the problems on the finals are 10000000X harder than the one he gave us or in the textbook. He didn't even teach us how to do most of those problems!I just hope i passed....strongly not recommended!!!however, he is the one who write the exams so, it's useless to go to the morning session...Good luck!
He's a good and nice man. However, he writes the hardest exams ever. Be prepared and start doing questions from the beginning of the year! Go and ask him questions as many as possible! look at old exams questions and practice those limits and so on from the book and other sources if available! only way to pass is to Really hard questions. BE WARNED
I have the theory that this man is a demon who is at least 1000 years old, and subsists unnaturally by getting up there and draining the life-force out of young people. One of Prof. Brown's classes is the ultimate cure for insomnia; guaranteed you will be asleep within the first 10 minutes, regardless of how energized you might have been before!
webworks were always doable, quizzes were passable with little studying, final was ridiculously hard... questions were on material we had not discussed, go through past exams from the beginning of the course, take a prep course for the final exam, do as much practice as possible and still don't expect an A in this course, ps he really should retire
try and avoid at all costs, even though this may not be possible, dont bother going to class it is a waste of time, spend the hour and a half teaching yourself beacuse you will end up doing that anyways. quizes exam and webwork were totally irrelevant to what he was teaching
Seems like he would be a nice guy if you weren't taking math from him. Go to class, even if you don't want to, and try to make sense of his jarbled notes, because even if you teach yourself most of the stuff in the textbook, the final will still be impossible. DO study from old finals even if he tells you not to, thats the only reason i passed....
Absolutely Horrible. The exam kills you. 70 - 90% exam. Even if you have Serbine, Brown rights the exam.
Worst teacher I've ever dealt with!
Terrible teaching methods which overcomplicate where unnecessary and oversimplify comlex material. This class will put you to sleep which ensures that you will have an even harder time grasping the material. AVOID if at all possible.
useless, i learn more from my TA in 20 minutes compared to him in 3 hours every week, always says, "you can see this in my notes," but doesn't use lecture time to teach what the main point of each section is. he shouldn't teach math if he can't teach, and if he can't teach at this level then let someone else do it, like one of his TAs
Professor Brown is an excellent Prof. A caveat to anyone taking him, you need to work hard to do well. His lecture notes are very clear and thorough. His lectures are dry but he explains everything as simply as it can be explained. His exams are tough, but if you put in the time, study old exams, practice problems in the textbook, you will do well.
Horrible. His lectures were like pulling teeth. He spent half the lectures telling us we were going to do horribly when he could have been teaching us so we didn't. His exam was unnecessarily difficult. I saw several students crying DURING the exam. AVOID THIS CLASS.
agree with all the comments on him. having uselessly long documents and always refer us to his notes in his class. Then WHY DO YOU HAVE LECTURES?
Definitely not as bad as most of the other comments claim. Exams are fair as long as you're prepared(ie. do textbook questions + past exams, which are very similar). Don't listen to misinformed loudmouths who claim everyone is destined to fail. If they spent just a little time studying instead of mouthing off, they probably wouldnt fail so epicaly
I had to do this course because my highschool education only overlapped with 3/4 of the course which i scored 90%+ on in school. His poor ability to relay the requirements lead me to fail.
Lectures are useless, the exam is tough, but due to ridiculous curve in his class, its not that hard to do well,a 60 on the final will get you an A, i recommend studying for the quizzes as well.
I had the misfotune of having Brown for both MATH 140 and 141. For 140, I attended all his lectures, took notes, did textbook questions, did Webwork, attended tutorials, and got a C+in the class. For 141 (the harder class), I hired a tutor and ignored Brown's ramblings, and ended up with an A-. A difficult class is even worse with a horrible prof.
this class was pretty easy. going to class isn't that necessary since he has typed notes that he copies down on the board. assignments are a bit challenging, midterm is very similar to previous years. for the final study his old finals, midterm and assignment 4-5, plus verbal proofs from previous years and you'll ace the class.. i did.
No matter which professor you have for your Calculus course, Brown sets the exam, and the exams are truly impossible. He's inescapable. Prof. Brown, if you can't teach on the level of a first-year calculus student, you shouldn't be teaching them!
Prof. Brown has truly passed his prime, if he had one. He spends half of every class repeating course information everyone already knows. The problems that he goes through in class (not that he gets through many!) are really quite simple ones, making attendance unnecessary. I went to class for a quite place to read my textbook. (No one is there!)
He simply doesn't teach... by his own admission. My parents went to see him because they couldn't understand what was going on since I'm a good student. He told them "I don't teach" his exact words... its simply incomprehensible to me
It's way past his time to retire. I don't understand why the school keeps such a horrible prof. He just simply doesn't teach and puts questions on the exam that we've never discussed or seen before.
Professor Brown is likely Lord Voldemorts brother. His lectures could kill Harry Potter........
He doesn't seem to want the class to succeed. He could care less if everyone failed. Exam was very tough, there should be a big bell curve. His exams are 10000x harder than the quizzes and WeBwOrk. Be cautious, study as hard as you possibly can. He writes all the exams for 140/141 so it doesn't matter which prof you actually have.
Boring, needs to retire and exams are insanely difficult. I didn't learn a single thing from this guy, and to make it worse the exam was so brutal. Avoid this guy at all costs. I used to like math... then I had Brown.
It's not only his extremely hard exams, but his seeming lack of interest in teaching and desire to be anything but helpful in classes that make him an awful professor. He tells us to study from the book but then makes his exams harder than any question you might find in the text. Gives the impression that he likes failing people. Good luck.
I used to love math... didn't think it was possible to have such a bad math Prof. Well ladies and gentleman, here he is. The exam was impossible, and nothing reflected of what he "taught" in class. There better be a big ass curve.
The course does have a somewhat challenging final, but it is a fair exam. If the course is taken seriously (4 credits means at least 4 hours of work outside of lecture and tutorial each week) the exam and assessments are straightforward. Dr. Brown is very open to questions and takes time to address them, but you have to ask. Initiative is key.
better be a big curve
Absolutely the worst teacher I have ever witnessed in my life - in all possible aspects. If you like the subject, he will destroy all interest. It may even be beneficial that you do NOT attend classes since it is a complete waste of time. Anyways, just prepare long and hard for very unexpected exams and grades!
This prof will take whatever little love you had for math and smash it into oblivion. He makes his exam questions unreasonably hard. I would recommend taking this course at a different university. I really think this guy shouldn't be teaching at McGill.
Horrible professor and an even more horrible person. I emailed him asking him what the average on the final exam was and he replied by telling me that he doesn't normally publish average as they are not very revealing. (i.e. it was probably under 50 and he doesn't want to look bad)
Not all of your college life will be pleasant, and prof Brown is bounded to make sure that all those who took his course are aware. I feel like that instead of acknowledge student progress and effort, his pleasures,if he genuinely enjoys it, obviously lay on the other side of the balance. Wrap up, FML, I had to take this course.
Probably the worst proff at McGill. I think he enjoyes watching everyone fail. Not helpful in or out of class. Just horrible.
His lectures are poorly planned and rushed. The exam is also obnoxiously difficult. Sure, it's meant to test a student's understanding and skill, but this exam merely tests how quickly one can find hidden and obscure forms of equations. Last time I checked, McGill is not Concordia. Why are we being tested on our cognitive creativity?
If you want to get an A in this class you need to do every problem in the text book. Many of the hardest problems on the exams are taken directly from it.Also the areas where questions stump you in the exam aren't in the concepts taught, but in little algebra tricks you may or may not have learnt in high school.Any time you see a trick-REMEMBER IT
I have to agree with others. All the classwork is way too difficult from the start. He jumps into the hardest problems from the textbook without going over the theory first, scribbling on the board and giving no explanations. Exam was brutal. My lowest grade ever, despite working my hardest.
Professor Brown was very strict with what he wanted for an online class. It first started off as a very difficult class. If it was not for having other friends in this course, I highly believe I would have failed. The content was interesting, but the work he expected from students was too much. He does not put up with confusion as well.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.70 avg changeRatings by Course
222
5.0
(1)329
5.0
(1)329348
5.0
(1)18924034
5.0
(1)MATH140AN
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
141
5.0
MATH144
5.0
CALII
5.0
LINEAR
5.0
CALC141
5.0