Very funny and charismatic. Can get a little bit confusing if you have no prior knowledge. Can also be annoying if you are there purely to learn. Buddhism is hard to grasp. Definitely can tell that he also gets bored with what he is teaching at times too. Tests are easy. Paper was a bit difficult. weekly assignments are tedious. Readings are boring

Professor Hillis was amazing. His lectures were always funny and engaging, and also recorded and posted online. He gave comprehensive study guides, and was very personable in office hours. Would strongly recommend him.

I didn't really like this class. The lectures were long and boring, and the final was a in-person exam and 5-page paper. Sections were mandatory but helpful, and the material can sometimes be interesting (even though there was way too much assigned reading). But overall I would recommending looking elsewhere for an GE.

EACS21 is a great class, very easy GE. Prof. Hillis understands that his class is taken primarily as a GE, and as such ensures that the material covered is not extensive tested. The class is extremely manageable, and reading is only super necessary depending on your TA. His enthusiasm for Zen Buddhism is delightful and I would 100% take again.

If you enjoy religion, this may be good for you (I don't). Exams were going to be online but he suddenly switched to in-person for the final. Prof. said to only read book if we wanted then said we should have read the book if we wanted to do well on the final. TA was a harsh grader and gave me a C on my paper although he said it would be easy.

Professor Hillis' lectures can be pretty boring however he does his best to make sure students know the material and are prepared for his exams. The work for this class comes from section; depending on your TA you could have to do a lot of reading every week. If you take notes during lecture and put some amount of effort in you should be fine.