On Construction Physics, we’ve talked frequently about the importance of learning curves as a mechanism by which things get less expensive over

What Learning by Doing Looks Like - by Brian Potter

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2024-12-12 15:00:12

On Construction Physics, we’ve talked frequently about the importance of learning curves as a mechanism by which things get less expensive over time. Learning curves, also known as experience curves or Wright’s Law, track the relationship between cumulative production volume and cost. Specifically, goods tend to show a constant rate of cost decrease (known as the learning rate) for every cumulative doubling of production. Solar PV, for instance, has had a recent learning rate of 44%: for each cumulative doubling of solar PV panel production — 50 to 100 gigawatts, 100 to 200 gigawatts, 200 to 400 gigawatts — costs fall by around 44%.

Learning curves are often conflated with the similar, but distinct, concept of “learning by doing," the idea that the more you do something, the better you get at it. Learning curve gains are often assumed to be the result of learning by doing. The Our World in Data page on learning curves, for instance, states that “That the price of technology declines when more of that technology is produced is a classic case of learning by doing. Increasing production gives the engineers the chance to learn how to improve the process.”

As originally formulated, the learning curve did indeed probably mostly consist of learning by doing. Theodore Wright first used learning curves in 1936 to describe airplane manufacturing. Improvements there probably were driven by experience, as factory staff got more skilled and figured out how to improve the assembly process. 1