Editing Learning curve (section)

== In culture ==

==="Steep learning curve"===
The expression "steep learning curve" is used with opposite meanings. Most sources, including the ''[[Oxford Dictionary of English]]'', the ''[[American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language]]'', and ''[[Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary]]'', define a learning curve as the rate at which skill is acquired, so a steep increase would mean a quick increment of skill.<ref name="surg" /><ref name="grammarphobia">{{cite web |title=Steep learning curves |url=http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/07/steep-learning-curves.html |date=2009-07-16}}</ref>
However, the term is often used in common English with the meaning of a difficult initial learning process.<ref name="zimmer" /><ref name="grammarphobia"/>

The common English usage aligns with a metaphorical interpretation of the learning curve as a hill to climb. (A steeper hill is initially hard, while a gentle slope is less strainful, though sometimes rather tedious. Accordingly, the shape of the curve (hill) may not indicate the total amount of [[work (physics)|work]] required. Instead, it can be understood as a matter of preference related to ambition, personality and learning style.)

<gallery class="center" widths="270" heights="180" style="line-height:130%">
File:Alanf777 Lcd fig08.png|Short and long learning curves
File:Alanf777 Lcd fig09.png|Product A has lower functionality and a short learning curve. Product B has greater functionality but takes longer to learn.
</gallery>
The term ''learning curve'' with meanings of ''easy'' and ''difficult'' can be described with adjectives like ''short'' and ''long'' rather than ''shallow'' and ''steep''.<ref name="surg" /> If two products have similar functionality then the one with a "steep" curve is probably better, because it can be learned in a shorter time. On the other hand, if two products have different functionality, then one with a ''short'' curve (a short time to learn) and limited functionality may not be as good as one with a ''long'' curve (a long time to learn) and greater functionality.

For example, the Windows program [[Notepad (Windows)|Notepad]] is extremely simple to learn, but offers little after this. At the other extreme is the UNIX terminal editor [[Vim (text editor)|vi or Vim]], which is difficult to learn, but offers a wide array of features after the user has learned how to use it.

=== "On a steep learning curve" ===
[[Ben Zimmer]] discusses the use of the term "on a steep learning curve" in ''[[Downton Abbey]]'', a television series set in the early 20th century, concentrating mainly on whether use of the term is an [[anachronism]]. "Matthew Crawley, the presumptive heir of Downton Abbey and now the co-owner of the estate, says, 'I've been on a steep learning curve since arriving at Downton.' By this he means that he has had a difficult time learning the ways of Downton, but people did not start talking that way until the 1970s."<ref name="zimmer">Zimmer, Ben (February 8, 2013)  [http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/a-steep-learning-curve-for-downton-abbey/ A "Steep Learning Curve" for "Downton Abbey"]. visualthesaurus.com</ref><ref>Zimmer, Ben (February 13, 2012) [http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3767 "Downton Abbey" anachronisms: beyond nitpickery], upenn.edu, also Comment by J Oliver : Season Three, episode 5</ref>

Zimmer also comments that the popular use of ''steep'' as ''difficult'' is a reversal of the technical meaning. He identifies the first use of ''steep learning curve'' as 1973, and the ''arduous'' interpretation as 1978.

=== Difficulty curves in video games ===
{{anchor|Difficulty curve}}
The idea of learning curves is often translated into [[video game]] gameplay as a "difficulty curve", which described how hard the game may get as the player progresses through the game and requiring the player to either become more proficient with the game, gain better understanding of the game's mechanics, and/or spend time "[[grinding (video games)|grinding]]" to improve their characters. Establishing the right difficulty curve is part of achieving the [[game balance]] within a title. As with learning curves in educational settings, difficulty curves can have multitudes of shapes, and games may frequently provide various levels of difficulty that change the shape of this curve relative to its default to make the game harder or easier.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/difficulty-curves | title = Difficulty Curves | first = Jimmy Marcus | last = Larsen | date = May 24, 2010 | access-date = February 3, 2020 | work = [[Gamasutra]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite conference | title = Scaling the Level of Difficulty in Single Player Video Games | first1 = Maria-Virginia | last1  = Aponte | first2 =Guillaume |last2= Levieux | first3 = Stéphane | last3 =  Natkin | conference = International Conference on Entertainment Computing 2009 | date = 2009 | book-title = [[Lecture Notes in Computer Science]] | editor1-first = S. | editor1-last = Natkin | editor2-first = J. | editor2-last = Dupire | publisher = [[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |  location = [[Berlin]] | volume = 5709 | doi = 10.1007/978-3-642-04052-8_3 | url = https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-642-04052-8_3.pdf | access-date = February 3, 2020  | doi-access = free }}</ref> Optimally the difficulty of a [[video game]] increases in correspondence with players ability. Games must neither be too challenging nor too undemanding nor too fortuitous.<ref name="RuggillMcAllister2011">{{cite book|last1=Ruggill|first1=Judd Ethan |last2=McAllister|first2=Ken S. |title=Gaming Matters: Art, Science, Magic, and the Computer Game Medium|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CVkfAnl01_EC&pg=PA89|date=11 May 2011|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-1737-9|page=89|chapter=Work}}</ref> The players will continue playing as long as a game is perceived to be winnable. This is therefore referred to as the ''illusion of winnability''. To generate an illusion of winnability games can include, internal value (a sense of moving towards a goal and being rewarded for it) driven by conflict which can be generated by an antagonistic environment and story driven suspense in the form of [[world building]]. The latter is not pivotal to progressing in a game.<ref name="Wolf2020">{{cite book|last=Wolf|first=Mark, J.P. |title=World-Builders on World-Building: An Exploration of Subcreation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-XkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT67|date=12 May 2020|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-429-51601-6|page=67}}</ref> Game designers may also make changes in [[gameplay]] by, for instance, limiting resources. One perspective is that if players are not tricked to believe that the video game world is real - if the world does not feel vibrant - then there is no point in creating the game.<ref name="Richard2010">{{cite book|last=Van Eck|first=Richard|title=Gaming and Cognition: Theories and Practice from the Learning Sciences: Theories and Practice from the Learning Sciences|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dqxX1idG4g8C&pg=PA113|date=31 May 2010|publisher=IGI Global|isbn=978-1-61520-718-3|pages=112–115| chapter = Feedforward as an Essential Active Principle}}</ref><ref name="Holmes2012">{{cite book|last=Holmes|first=Dylan|title=A Mind Forever Voyaging: A History of Storytelling in Video Games|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFBzOO17SHcC&pg=PA83|year=2012|publisher=Dylan Holmes|isbn=978-1-4800-0575-4|page=83|chapter=The Rise of Cutscenes}}</ref>