Quoting a relatively famous mathematician, linear algebra is one of the few branches of math we've really truly understood. It's very, very well behaved
Hard disagree. Linear algebra can make pretty shapes and colors from a bunch of vertices, while calculus can make you want to quit school and become a plumber.
I have learned linear algebra in a few different contexts now, and each one I learned made it easier. When I first learned it, it was in a pure maths context and I found it tricky. It began to make more sense in university, when I learned it in the context of x-ray crystallography. I think more so than most topics, linear algebra really needs the context of it's usefulness for it to really make sense, but also, I think I'd have struggled with the x-ray crystallography if I hadn't already got a grounding in linear algebra from a pure maths angle.