It's a bit more than it seems, on the surface. You're not just expected to pick up what the professors lecture about, but to take it and apply it to a sampling

It's a bit more than it seems, on the surface. You're not just expected to pick up what the professors lecture about, but to take it and apply it to a sampling of fairly advanced problems. You end up doing a lot of learning on your own (or in a small group) while completing the homework. To use your gym analogy, it's like focusing on one muscle group per week. On Monday, you're shown proper form and technique for a squat, but by the following Monday, you'd better be able to squat significantly more than you could a week ago (and you'll get graded on it). Are you going to become a competitive squat weight lifter? Absolutely not. Do you now know proper form, and understand what it takes to train properly? Almost certainly. I'd also note two things: - Most topics covered were useful in later courses. - A lot of the credit for this course's success can be given as much to really, really dedicated TAs as it can to the professors. (Note: I took this course my freshman year, it was blisteringly hard, and I wouldn't have traded anything for it.)