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A learning curve measures time on the x axis and progress on the y axis. A flat learning curve means you never learn anything :-\
by ants_everywhere 1y ago
A learning curve measures time on the x axis and progress on the y axis.
A flat learning curve means you never learn anything :-\
- tacitusarc 1y agoThis is incorrect. A learning curve measures expertise on the x axis and effort on the y axis. Hence the saying "steep learning curve".
- ergonaught 1y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve
- tacitusarc 1y agoIt is unclear how this comment was meant; in any case, it is appreciated. As stated in the link: “The common English usage aligns with a metaphorical interpretation of the learning curve as a hill to climb.” Followed by a graph plotting x “experience” against y “learning.”
- saretup 1y agoThat’s interesting. I always intuitively assumed x-axis was progress and y-axis was cumulative effort.
- tacitusarc 1y agoCalling it inaccurate was too harsh; my definition only became common usage in 1970, and the original “time vs learning” is still used in academic circles.
- nchmy 1y agoAcademic circles? That's how it is just used in general. You're the anomaly.
- tacitusarc 1y agoTo clarify, you believe the common use of “steep learning curve” means easy to learn?
- nchmy 1y agoI was objecting to your definition of effort vs expertise. It's quite obviously expertise vs time/experience. This is described in this wiki article that was linked in another comment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve Which also points out how people rarely use the term properly, and call something difficult to learn a "steep" learning curve. It's the opposite.
- LambdaComplex 1y ago"Flattening the derivative of Rust's learning curve" really doesn't roll off the tongue though
- ants_everywhere 1y agoYeah that's true. But it would be on brand for a post that emphasizes the importance of accuracy and attention to detail.
- cozzyd 1y agoA steep line still has a flat derivative
- alpinisme 1y agoYou may be able to draw one that way but it completely neglects the way people use the term ordinarily “a steep learning curve” is not an easy to learn thing. In point of fact, I think the intended chart of the idiom is effort (y axis) to reach a given degree of mastery (x axis)
- ants_everywhere 1y agoI don't think the idiom has in mind any particular curve. I think it's just another case of a misuse becoming idiomatic without any meaning beyond the phrase taken as a unit. E.g. - another think coming -> another thing coming - couldn't care less -> could care less - the proof of the pudding is in the eating -> the proof is in the pudding It's usually not useful to try to determine the meaning of the phrases on the right because they don't have any. What does it mean for proof to be in a pudding for example? The idiom itself is fine, it's just a black box that compares learning something hard to climbing a mountain. But learning curves are real things that are still used daily so I just thought it was funny to talk as if a flat one was desirable.
- psychoslave 1y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve
- azornathogron 1y ago(not related to your overall point) > - another think coming -> another thing coming Fascinating. I had never come across this before. I've only ever seen people use "another thing coming".
- nchmy 1y agoLikewise. And, yet, I've thought about this for a while now and looked up a bunch of articles and I still think that "thing" is completely - if not more - appropriate. I fully understand and use "think" as a noun - eg have a think - but when I say "you have another thing coming", there's no expectation or implication that they're going to rethink anything in the future. People often don't do that. Instead, I'm simply implying that reality is going to turn out to be very different (and probably negative/unfavourable for them) than they think/expect. It's the equivalent of saying "watch out - youve got something else/other than you expect coming to you". In fact, it even shifts the rethink from sometime in the future to now - "rethink this now, as it's not going to turn out how you expect" And, moreover, it's often said as a final warning "I'm doing you a favour right now by warning you - it's the only generosity you're going to get from me in this matter".
- autoexec 1y agoWhat we want is an "effort/difficulty curve" that measures how difficult something typically is over time from introduction to proficiency
- raincole 1y agoIt should be called "learning hill" instead. People (colloquially) use phrases like "steep learning curve" because they imagine learning curve is something you climb up, a.k.a. a hill.
- Zambyte 1y agoIt also could mean you don't need to learn beyond a certain point.
- fastasucan 1y agoBut flattening the learning curve doesn't have to mean to make it completely flat, just making it less steep :)