The Learning Curve

Figure 1: The Learning Curve

The learning curve for a subject is S shaped. There are three distinct parts. First, starting from the origin, it is almost a straight line with a low slope. This part represents the initial learning, the struggle to learn new concepts. A lot many times, we find the going tough and give up during this duration. But, if we persevere and do the hard work, we reach the second part, where there is a very steep incline. Here the rate of learning is high. The fundamental concepts in place, we build upon these concepts at a fast rate. Lastly, there is a plateau, when we have gained a fair amount of expertise and the rate of learning new concepts regarding that subject is low.