In the late 80s I bounced off of a couple of linear algebra courses (when MIT had a lot of trouble teaching undergrad courses in advanced topics because they as

In the late 80s I bounced off of a couple of linear algebra courses (when MIT had a lot of trouble teaching undergrad courses in advanced topics because they assumed it was just prep for the graduate course instead of actual teaching.) Then I got in to Strang's course, and it was such a breath of fresh air - he was honestly, effusively enthusiastic about the subject and this was contagious. "Engaging" doesn't do it justice :-) He put a lot of work into both demystifying and clarifying jargon, and explicitly "connecting the dots" between related concepts.