“This software has too much of a learning curve.” Every so often, I hear a popular mantra being repeated by fellow creators, professionals, and pretty much anyone who’s reluctant to try something new.
More often than not, in my experience and observation, this line is thrown around without even giving the software a fair chance. The more I hear it, the less it makes sense, because the truth is, everything has a learning curve. Every tool, every app, every skill, every thing that can be learned, has one. Yet for some reason, we’ve counted it as a valid and solid excuse for why we won’t expand our horizons.
So perhaps the problem isn’t that the learning curve exists, because that’s an inescapable quality of life. Maybe the problem is that we only seem to notice the learning curve when the software in front of us is open, and the money we would have spent gets mentally converted into time we suddenly refuse to invest.
Let me just say it right now: you’re going to invest that time either way, so why not invest it more wisely in something without restrictions?
Tech Insight: Familiarity isn’t a measure of quality
One of our most toxic software habits is assuming that familiarity, whether individual or collective, is proof of superiority. What “feels” easier isn’t always what’s better designed, more capable, or more polished. Truthfully, it’s often just a measure of what we’re most familiar with, because we met it first.
Using a personal example, this same mentality surfaced for me when I first dove into the world of 3D graphics. My first experiences with 3D were in 3DS Max, Rhino, and a dinosaur of an app called Merlin 3D. All 3 had very different interfaces, paradigms, and abilities, yet I kept using them even when I found a better alternative that I could get for free, without relying on a friend to lend me a copy: Blender.
My excuse at the time for not learning Blender? The learning curve.
Never mind that it required fewer resources, was smoother, worked on multiple operating systems, and would allow me to preserve my files for years to come. It wasn’t that the other software was inherently better. Certainly, Merlin 3D was anything but that. It’s just that my investment was already sunk. I was overlooking the flaws, the frustrations, and the costs, because of course, Blender is open-source and therefore... “It’s complicated.”
The problem of selective grace
What I just described is something I’ve noticed more and more as I continue to write, advocate, educate, and inform, but even more so as I observe modern trends in tech. Many people are waking up to their own frustration with proprietary tools that demand money, lock them into their ecosystems, and force awkward redesigns, limited export capabilities, and months or years of adaptation.
Yet the same software gets described as “easy”, “better”, and “more intuitive”, even when it’s not. I’ve yet to see this same grace extended to the software built by volunteer developers who just do it for the love of what they do, and often do a much better job out of a passion for serving others with the tools they wish they’d had.
We’re often overlooking the very obvious warts of whatever just so happens to be popular. For instance, Microsoft Windows is by far the most popular operating system for personal computers to this day. It’s riddled with intrusive features like forced ads, forced trialware on new PCs, and, as of recently, a forced Microsoft account that requires internet access just to allow you to use your own computer. Yet people will nitpick at free operating systems such as Linux distributions and use the excuse that “the learning curve is just too steep”, as though there is not also a learning curve for the operating system that requires a wizard for installing most software.
Maybe we should stop seeing the infamous learning curve as a moral failing and admit what it really is.
Our willingness to learn is the barrier
To be fair, not every piece of software is equally usable, certainly not right away. Some tools are genuinely better designed than others. But areas of friction are not the definition of bad design. Some friction is to be expected when learning anything new, and this is often where our resistance really lies.
We need to ask ourselves, is it really a prohibitive learning curve, or am I just afraid of becoming a beginner again? It’s okay to admit that it can be a bruise to the ego, and saying you’re using something most other people are not can be a social faux pas.
The irony of it all
One last thing I want to touch on is this: the software most often praised for having a “low learning curve” is often the software that costs us more, both in the short term and in the long term. Short term, it’s subscriptions, restrictions, and vendor lock-in. Long term, however, the cost is often depth.
“Popular”, “professional” software built around hand-holding helps you move quickly at first by hiding complexity and narrowing decision making. It feels efficient, and often is.
The catch comes when your skill needs to outgrow the hand-holding. Suddenly, your access becomes your prison, and the shortcuts that helped get you started keep you shallow.
Meanwhile, the tool that asked more of you at the beginning may be the very one that gives you more control, more flexibility, and more room to grow later on.
That’s why “easy” isn’t a quantitative measure of “good”, and a “steep” learning curve is not always a sign that something is wrong. Sometimes it’s the price of deeper growth, and the catalyst to take you further.
Practical Tip: Judge by return, not just friction
The next time you try something new, don’t judge yourself and your experience by the first hour. Ask yourself: “What happens if I stick with it?”
Remember, the point of a learning curve is to put you on a higher level. If the curve is steep, it just means you get higher, faster. If it’s shallow, you might find yourself stuck in first gear for the remainder of your journey, so don’t let that be you.
Here’s what I’ve published recently:
It’s FOSS
Why Linux Users Love to Hate Ubuntu
A look at why Ubuntu attracts so much criticism from Linux users, and why a lot of that criticism deserves a second look.10 Things Linux Can Do That Windows Still Can’t
A practical look at some of the freedoms Linux still offers that Windows simply does not, from live sessions and deeper customisation to hardware longevity and system choice.
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