Helfand is an excellent professor -- engaging, funny, clear, remarkably accessible considering the size (nearly 100 students) of the class. The class itself is a mixed bag. Helfand sees it as an astronomy-tinged introduction to scientific thinking, and a few of the general-science topics (for instance, back-of-the-envelope estimations) are worthwhile. Most, though, aren't: the class went through basic chemistry and high school physics, which much of the class already knew. And if the difference between speed and velocity never managed to reach you, you're not about to suddenly grasp physics in two classes. As a result of this, the bulk of the midterm marks were either Cs or As: the science-phobic struggled, and those with some scientific knowledge cruised. All that said, when the course dealt with actual astronomy, it was consistently fascinating and well-taught. Recommended with reservations, but still recommended.