John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Taking the derivative, dy/dx where y=result and x=effort. The steeper central region has more result for less effort, so less work to achieve more. Do any readers who have done film photography recognise the curve of film opacity vs light flux where the central region would be virtually straight. The steeper that region the faster the film.

whatdat Loc: Del Valle, Tx.

Huh???

Dannj

🤪

rocar7 Loc: Alton, England

But this is a learning curve, which is different. The x axis is knowledge, or how much you have learnt, and the y axis is time, or how long it takes to learn that amount of knowledge.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Actually, the x-axis, at least as portrayed in the graph, is trials, and the y-axis is performance.

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

Why I was so bright my mother called me Sun. And in school they even gave me a pointy hat and let me sit in the front of the class.

Dannj

If “Learning Curve” is the term we apply to acquiring a particular body of knowledge or technique, is there a generally accepted term for what happens once we’ve reached the peak. That, unfortunately, is where I seem to have arrived. Am I now on the “Un-learning Curve”? If so, the slope is much steeper and, dare I say, severely more slippery (slipperier?!?!). Aaaaaggghhhh🤪

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Please understand that “steep learning curve” is merely a colloquialism derived from the idea that a steep hill can be difficult to climb. The hill is curved at the bottom and top. So...

Colloquial phrases seldom make literal or precise sense to a certain segment of the population who gauge everything against a measure of precise language or pure mathematical logic. Colloquial phrases annoy them to no end (sigh), because they are caught in traps of literalism.

This is why, for example, it took an acid head like Steve Jobs to lead teams of engineers to build Macs and iPhones... He was able to think unconventionally and crazily enough to connect and relate disparate technologies into practical, new, and easily accessible forms. (Then, of course, the copycats moved in...)