Kelsey would ask him if he were thirsty. I'm handing him salt.

This post is dedicated to you, Dr. Kovats, for teaching Differential Equations/Linear Algebra at 8 in the morning with a level of enthusiasm never before seen in a mathematics classroom, and then switching buildings and reteaching the material and doing the EXACT same problems again at 9 am for my class with the same jolting volume and an unsurpassable excitement for math that I haven't seen since my brother and I nicknamed our Algebra 1 teacher, the Stuhlminator.
(points for me for that absurdly long statement)


For those of you unfortunates who have not had the opportunity to sit in on one of these great man's lectures I offer you the following quotes.
Please note that every single one of these was shouted in a voice that can only be described as gleeful.

"We've got a 2 here, a 3, and a finsky (five)!"

"Absolutely! Absolutely! *walks towards the board, walks away from the board, shrugges shoulders all while continuing* Absolutely! Absolutely! Yes! Of course you can! Absolutely!"

"Before we start giving ourselves high fives all across the room!! we've got to make sure!!"

"Roll the Dice, going for a 5!!!"

"I find multiplication a challenge!"

"We'll use a and b that's the gentlemanly thing!"
(to which Raymond whispered, "See that, he's wooing you." Greatest word choice in the word, well done Sir.)

"ITS ALREADY IN ECHELON FORM!"

"Okay, Okay, Okay, what are we doing?"

"You have infinite solutions! NO! Even more than that, you have uncountably many solutions!!!"

(while looking at a 4 by 4 matrix) "There's Definitely something attractive about this thing."

Kovats: "what can you tell me about this matrix"
Austin: "Its really close to echelon form."
Kovats:" ITS REALLY REALLY REALLY CLOSE!!!"

"This place is like vegas"

to student who just asked a homework question
"I have no idea how to do this problem...THESE ARE THE ANSWERS!!!!"

"There's something offensive about calling this matrix star"

while about to start a Mixing Problem:
Here's the point, when I was in college there was only one energy drink. It was called Jolt cola. It came in a red can with a yellow lightning bolt across the front and the slogan: All the sugar and twice the caffeine. and that was it. that was the drink. One day at a concert i saw a man with a red shirt and the lightning bolt across it and then under that the words: Jolt Cola, All the sugar twice the caffeine..."I WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED THAT YOUNG MAN ANYWHERE!"

student: yank out the e^x out of the first column
Kovats: lets talk more about yanking
Class laughs silently and then becomes quiet
I burst out laughing
Kovats: "CHUCKLES! What To DO!?"
Xenia: pull an e^x out of the first, e^2x out of the second and e^3x out of the third column
Kovats: YOU BEAST!!!

"Here's the thing, you CANT do drugs before coming to class!"

Right before taking a derivative that will include 5 product rules
"okay...we RIDE!"


Let me leave you with a few final thoughts...Kovats on a blind date... Kovats on the upwards climb of a Roller Coaster... Kovats in a library with a very strict librarian...Kovats realizing that his favorite type of cereal is half off...


p.s. watch this post, more quotes to come.