What's a learning curve and why is steep not hard?

Question

• What exactly is a learning curve?
• And why is it wrong to use the term "steep learning curve" for something which has high entry barriers and takes quite some time to get into?

As to the why-ness of this question:

• The terms are used often and inconsistently on Stack Overflow
• I myself have been confused by it
• Mostly the newbies are confronted with these terms when they for example ask questions like "what's the best php development framework"

Solution 1

It's a curve of time versus proficiency.

Steep for hard is wrong because it'd mean that you get very proficient in very little time

proficiency
  |   __
  |  |
  |  |    Proficient in little time (steep = easy)
  |  |
  |_/____________
       time

proficiency
  |
  |       Proficient in lots of time (gentle = hard)
  |            __             
  |           /
  |__________/___
       time

Solution 2

See wikipedia.

"steep learning curve" is a buzz-phrase that doesn't have any actual meaning. It used to mean that you'd make quick progress. "Over time, the misapprehension has emerged that a "steep" learning curve means that something requires a great deal of effort to learn..."

Conclusion: people who use the phrase don't know that it's unclear. You should get details from them on what specific things are hard to learn and get past the buzz-phrases and platitudes.

Solution 3

(from unix.rulez.org/~calver)

_{(source: rulez.org)}

This (very unserious) diagram subscribes to the steep == "hard to climb" interpretation, for anyone keeping score. Emacs. So true. ;-)

Solution 4

I've generally understood it to have more to do with the amount of time allotted to learning, and what you have to learn in that period of time. If you have only a short amount of time in which to learn something, your learning curve is going to be much steeper than if you had a longer amount of time to learn the same amount of material. So a steep learning curve IS difficult because it means you're trying to cram six months worth of learning into three weeks, or whatever.

More material in the same amount of time would produce the same curve.

Solution 5

from Widipedia:

The term learning curve refers to the graphical relation between the amount of learning and the time it takes to learn.

The term "steep learning curve" is often wrongly used for things which need some time to wrap ones mind around. Also here on Stack Overflow I've seen it used wrongly many times and hence this Question and my own answer to it.

In fact a steep learning curve is given, when it is relatively easy to start of with a new skill/technique/...

it means that the relationship between "learning progress (y)" and "time invested (x)" is greater than 1.

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