The Best of Berkeley is the Daily Californian’s annual reader-voted contest to find the best people, places, and businesses in Berkeley.

Best Class: Physics for Future Presidents

Alina Xu

A course designed to make physics understandable to the less math- and science-inclined among us sounds potentially disastrous, but in the competent hands of Professor Richard Muller, the subject isn’t dumbed down so much as rendered in a fascinating way with meaningful connections to the real world. Muller’s dedication to teaching, expert knowledge of the subject and genuine concern for his students are obvious – though he’s not averse to informing the class on April Fool’s Day that their collective grades will be lowered in accordance with a department crackdown on grade inflation. For humanities and social science majors, there’s no better way to fulfill that pesky physical science breadth requirement; for everyone else, it’s science from a compelling new perspective.