If experience is the x axis and learning is the y axis, and the learning curve is "steep," that might not mean it's easy to learn. It might mean that it's impos

If experience is the x axis and learning is the y axis, and the learning curve is "steep," that might not mean it's easy to learn. It might mean that it's impossible to even get valid experience at first because it's so hard to learn, but if you manage to succeed anyhow, then there's not much more learning to do. That seems to match the common usage. In other words, climbing the y axis costs energy which must be expended to travel to the right.