PL3243 (Sem 2, AY2015/16)

By: Yunjie
Module taken in Sem 2, AY2015/16
PL3243

Lecturer: Prof Stuart Derbyshire

Lecturer Review: Prof demands students to have more thought than from just memorising and regurgitating the contents of the course. (for more on content, read the next section). His style is rather different from other lecturers, which are more fact-focused. He is knowledgeable in the area, especially in the area of Pain, and will question us beyond textbook content to make us think more.
I really liked the content and his style, but I was intimidated by the exams. I think he has a specific style of writing he prefers so it’s not easy to score even if you have all the facts.That is my hypothesis, so you can sign up for this mod and test it out for yourself 😉
Good mod, definitely recommended! But it’s not easy.

Module Review: 
CONTENT WAS AMAZING, to me. We were taught about neural correlates of all our senses, from sight (which was around 40% of the course), to touch, to hear, to smell, to taste. I never enjoyed biology-related topics but this module was very interesting and insightful. It made me understand more about our senses and how we see the world. Even such a simple thing like vision involves so many different types of cells, processes, and interactions. TLDR: it was very interesting, and will be interesting for you if you like
understanding the “why”s and “how”s of our brains and
senses.
If you’ve heard of Prof Derbyshire before, you’ll know he is rather philosophical and can be demanding in challenging you to think, going beyond just understanding the facts of what has been taught. This isn’t a module where you can slack and breeze through, but if you put in the effort, I think it will be a fulfilling and engaging one 🙂
Mid-terms – 30% (short answers, and essays with choices)
Finals – 50% (short answers, and essays with choices)
Class part – 20%