Dogs And Learning Curves

German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885) came up with the concept of a “learning curve” while studying the effects of repeated performances of a task and its effect on memory. Generally, the more an activity is practiced, the more likely it will be remembered and repeated. Thus, you could plot the increased performance on a Cartesian graph, with one plane, call it the X axis representing the number of learning repetitions, and the other plane, call it the Y axis, representing the correctly performed repetitions, and a line that slopes upwards between the two axes representing the improved performance of that skill over time. Similarly, Ebbinghaus postulated a “forgetting curve”, which showed the opposite effect, which shows the down sloping curve, representing the deterioration of the skill when practice stops over time... (MORE)