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Subject:Re: Learning Curve From:Dick Margulis <ampersandvirgule -at- WORLDNET -dot- ATT -dot- NET> Date:Tue, 5 May 1998 18:29:22 -0400
Michael Johnson wrote:
>
That leads me to believe it was invented by a =
> non-mathematician, probably a marketing guy using Word 6.0 to write an =
> overdue brochure late on a hot, sweaty Wednesday afternoon a few summers =
> ago, right after his art disappeared for the third time.
Well, Mike, not really. It's a valid term of art in psychology and in
artificial intelligence, as defined in the original post in this thread.
It has been coopted into the general language and inverted in its
meaning, as several others have noted, much as parameter was hijacked
from linear mathematics several decades ago.
My vote goes for eliminating the cliche and saying what we mean, as
suggested by others. I'll start: I will no longer describe Interleaf as
having a steeper learning curve than FrameMaker. Instead I'll say it
takes longer to learn how to use it effectively.