I missed the staff meeting but the minutes show Spehro Pefhany
wrote back on Mon, 17 Jan 2005 10:19:14
-0500 in rec.crafts.metalworking :
On Mon, 17 Jan 2005 15:11:00 GMT, the renowned "Tom Gardner"
wrote:

Autocad may not be for you. What do you need to do? Get a more basic CAD
software. You don't buy Autocad...you marry it! Try Autosketch or some
other entry-level software. If you're going to marry software, marry
"Solidworks"

What Tom said-- all of it. Autocad has a long history, and it shows in
the steep learning curve.

Arggh! Easy stuff has a short learning curve, hard stuff has a long
learning curve. Steep curve good! Steep curve means you grasp concepts
quickly! Arrgh!

Personal nitpick but a steep learning curve is a good thing! Visualize
a basic XY graph, with amount learned being Y, and time spent learning
being X.

A "steep" curve means that the amount of material learned (the y value)
goes up very rapidly for the amount of time expended (X). If you spend all
week studying something and still don't get it, you have a problem, and a
flat learning curve.

Turning on a CNC machine has a steep and "short" learning curve. In
terms of Autocad, "how do I get the program to run. Load, and click this
button." Done.
Mastering everything the program can do is a longer process, and the
learning curve is much flatter.

I know, I'm barking up the wrong tree, some things get stuck in the
public memory and reality has nothing to do with it. Lets just say I don't
have a short learning curve on this. :-)


--
pyotr filipivich
"With Age comes Wisdom. Although more often, Age travels alone."