Got the axes wrong

Post #365,460 by drook 10/23/12 12:32:55 PM Reply	Got the axes wrong X is how well you can use the system, Y is how much you know. A steep curve (near 0 on the X-axis) means you need to learn a lot to become even minimally effective. -- Drew
Post #365,461 by Andrew Grygus 10/23/12 2:07:08 PM Reply	Having made my living with learning curves . . . . . for many years, this is how it was laid out. I still have the book of tables I used - we didn't have computers in those days. X axis (horizontal) - total number of units produced. Y axis (vertical) - total time invested per unit produced. So if you start high at the left, you hope to decline rapidly (steep curve) - unless you're on a cost plus contract. Of course, the ideal is a very shallow learning curve, starting low and ending a bit lower. Takes a lot of the risk out of estimating the total cost.
Post #365,462 by drook 10/23/12 2:10:49 PM Reply	Hmm, backwards from (current) common usage People talk about climbing the learning curve, and a steep curve is harder to climb. -- Drew
Post #365,477 by Andrew Grygus 10/23/12 8:51:04 PM Reply	No, they just don't understand learning curves. You don't climb learning curves - you start at the top (most difficult) and slide down (you hope).
Post #365,464 by Another Scott 10/23/12 3:38:51 PM Reply	I think those are "experience curves". E.g. http://en.wikipedia...._experience_curve Given your previous experience, that would seem to be a perfect fit. Cheers, Scott.
Post #365,478 by Andrew Grygus 10/23/12 9:01:09 PM Reply	Yea, but . . . . . note that they use "Experience Curve" as a "disambiguation" of the major heading "Learning Curve" - and the other definitions are TV shows or bands. Calling it an "Experience Curve" is probably a recent attempt to overcome the total misuse of the term "Learning Curve" in current speech. We always called it "Learning Curve", and the government auditors called it "Learning Curve", and my book of tables is titled "Cumulative Average Learning".
Post #365,463 by Another Scott 10/23/12 3:37:25 PM Reply	There are lots and lots of variations. That's another reason why the term is bad. ;-) http://en.wikipedia....urve#Common_terms Common terms The familiar expression "steep learning curve" may refer to either of two aspects of a pattern in which the marginal rate of required resource investment is initially low, perhaps even decreasing at the very first stages, but eventually increases without bound. Early uses of the metaphor focused on the pattern's positive aspect, namely the potential for quick progress in learning (as measured by, e.g., memory accuracy or the number of trials required to obtain a desired result)[5] at the introductory or elementary stage.[6] Over time, however, the metaphor has become more commonly used to focus on the pattern's negative aspect, namely the difficulty of learning once one gets beyond the basics of a subject.[citation needed] In the former case, the "steep[ness]" metaphor is inspired by the initially high rate of increase featured by the function characterizing the overall amount learned versus total resources invested (or versus time when resource investment per unit time is held constant)Âin mathematical terms, the initially high positive absolute value of the first derivative of that function. In the latter case, the metaphor is inspired by the pattern's eventual behavior, i.e., its behavior at high values of overall resources invested (or of overall time invested when resource investment per unit time is held constant), namely the high rate of increase in the resource investment required if the next item is to be learnedÂin other words, the eventually always-high, always-positive absolute value and the eventually never-decreasing status of the first derivative of that function. In turn, those properties of the latter function dictate that the function measuring the rate of learning per resource unit invested (or per unit time when resource investment per unit time is held constant) has a horizontal asymptote at zero, and thus that the overall amount learned, while never "plateauing" or decreasing, increases more and more slowly as more and more resources are invested. This difference in emphasis has led to confusion and disagreements even among learned people.[7] FWIW. Cheers, Scott.
Post #365,468 by static 10/23/12 4:31:20 PM Reply	Yes. This. Another good example is learning a new musical instrument. I've recently picked up Rocksmith: having not played guitar before, my existing musical skill gave me a small boost, but I didn't get far before the real learning kicked in and everything simply got quite a lot harder. I expressed some concern to an experienced musician about difficulties fretting with the bundled guitar and he said to give it six months. Now that's a learning curve! Wade. Just Add Story http://justaddstory.wordpress.com/

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