Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 14 down vote favorite
3

What should I understand from "steep learning curve"? When a computer program (for example a translation program) has a steep learning curve, does it mean that it is not good at learning or it's hard for it to learn?

share|improve this question

2 Answers

up vote 12 down vote accepted

In informal usage, a "steep learning curve" means something that is difficult (and takes much effort) to learn. It seems that people are thinking of something like climbing a steep curve (mountain) — it's difficult and takes effort.

As it is technically used, however, a learning curve is not anything to be climbed, and is simply a graph plotting learning versus time. Thus, a steep learning curve would look like this (excuse the poor drawing):

Steep learning curve

One natural interpretation of such a curve, which was the predominant early usage (according to Wikipedia) and still exists in some technical circles, is that the thing being learnt is easy — a great amount of learning happens in a small amount of time. This is the opposite of the popular usage. Now there is also apparently an interpretation of the same curve in the negative sense — probably something about a large amount of learning existing, or that one never stops learning and keeps learning, but I'm not sure I understand how that's negative.

Summary

The popular meaning of "steep learning curve" is "difficult to learn"; the technical meaning is "quick to learn".

share|improve this answer
1  
+1 for information about actual meaning of this phrase and the way it is usually used. More about this: discuss.fogcreek.com/joelonsoftware/…, stackoverflow.com/q/277618/95. – Marek Grzenkowicz Dec 4 '10 at 16:38
1  
The technical meaning isn't "quick to learn"; by a steep learning curve, what's meant is a curve with a "cliff" in it. That is, something where it takes a while to learn anything at all, and then one "suddenly gets it". It's not such a big jump from there to "difficult", although the original literal meaning was a particular kind of difficult. – Henry Dec 4 '10 at 20:31
@Henry: A learning curve is always monotonically non-decreasing (the amount of learning cannot decrease with time) so it can't have a cliff either sloping left or sloping right. So I'm not sure what you mean. – ShreevatsaR Dec 5 '10 at 3:23
3  
From psywww.com/intropsych/ch07_cognition/learning_curve.html: "People often speak of a steep learning curve when they mean the opposite. A steep learning curve is one in which skill improves quickly, meaning something is easy to learn. However, what most people mean by "steep learning curve" is difficult learning experience. No doubt they are thinking of steep hills and steep mountains which make climbing difficult. In actuality, the steepest part of the learning curve is the portion where learning is fastest and easiest." – Alex Dec 5 '10 at 14:24
1  
I mean a curve with a long, fairly flat region, followed by a big, sudden jump. In other words, consider two skills where expertise in either can be achieved in 100 hours of training. In one task, there is a steady gain in understanding and ability as time is put in. In the other task, one gains almost no ability until after 90 hours, at which point mastery steadily climbs. In one sense, both are equally difficult (it takes the same amount of time to master each), but in another sense, the second task is more difficult. – Henry Dec 5 '10 at 18:47
show 5 more comments
up vote 10 down vote

This phrase has a scientific basis (Wikipedia has information on its origin and scientific usage), but is most commonly used to indicate that something is difficult to learn. It refers to a person’s rate of progress in learning a new skill as it might be plotted on a graph. In this case it sounds like the computer program itself is difficult for beginners to use effectively, not that it is not good at learning. I have never heard the phrase used that way, though I suppose it could apply to a program that uses artificial intelligence.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.