University | 9:19 pm | January 14, 2013 | By Yale Daily News and Marek Ramilo

Shopping period dispatches: day 1

Today marks the start of shopping period, which means (some) Yale students and YDN staffers alike rolled out of bed before noon and hit the books. Check out some highlights below:

Not for the haters

At 11:35, about 300 students more than filled Davies Auditorium for the first CPSC 112 lecture, relegating several students to seats on the floor. Taught by Professor Richard Yang, “Intro to Programming” serves to teach typically humanities-inclined Yalies how to make “computers do something weird.” Professor Yang described the course as a kind of synthesis of foreign language, engineering, philosophy and psychology classes, but warned students against taking the class if they “refuse to think logically” or “hate computers.”

— Marek Ramilo 

Other Memorable Moments

“I’m a big fan of Credit/D. Use your Credit/D. I have a lot of them on my Yale transcript. … They did not hurt me.” — professor Akhil Reed Amar ’80 LAW ’84, PLSC 233 “Constitutional Law”

“If there were a nickname for this class, I’d call it ‘Womb to Tomb.’” — professor Richard Bribiescas, ANTH 242 “Human Evolutionary Bio & Life History”

“Drinking ’til you’re intoxicated … Anybody think that’s normal?” — professor David Klemanski, PSYC 180 “Abnormal Psychology.“ Reports suggest his question was followed by an “increasingly awkward” silence.

“Lots of history is motivated by bad ideas, alas…” — professor Paul Freedman, HIST 211 / HUMS 381 “The Birth of Europe, 1000-1500″ when discussing the Crusades

In CSSY 280 “Theory & Practice of Negotiation,” professor Adam B. Kinon discussed an extended example of a negotiation: putting a beer pong table in the common room. Possible solution? Fist fight.

Students were turned away from HIST 122 / AMST 193 “Origins of U.S. Global Power” as more than 100 students turned up in HGS 217A, which fits only about half that number. According to the News’ sources, students thronged outside the class and the crowd completely blocked the hall. But there’s a silver lining: Those lucky enough to make it in did see a clip of “Mad Men.”

And finally, the popular course PHYS 101 “Movie Physics” has been canceled “due to a variety of recent developments,” according to a Monday email from professor Stephen Irons.

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