Inflection Point

Andy came up to visit yesterday, and we had some good conversations, as we always do. One in particular was on the nature of learning, and for whatever reason it reminded me of the concept of inflection points. I'll explain what it is mathematically for those not quite so inclined.

For a purely mathematical definition:
The inflection point is the point at which a curve's second derivative changes sign.

Now, I don't expect you to know precisely what that means, but take from it that an inflection point is where things are going straight ahead for a moment. Imagine a winding road and two curves - one to the left and one to the right. There's a point directly in between these curves where the steering wheel is perfectly straight; that's the point of inflection. It's the point where things stop accelerating in one direction and begin to decelerate.

Everyone experiences lots of moments like this, and mine seems to be upon me regarding my job. It seems like after two and a half years, I'm beginning to lose my sense of purpose. I spent the entirety of the last thirty months building that purpose up - learning to do new and useful things, becoming more and more integral in the execution of testing at my facility. Now, it's almost like it's slowly beginning to decline, as if in two and a half years I'll pass zero and head into the "worse than useless" territory. Of course, that's a negative viewpoint to have, but it's something that I'm sure everyone experiences.

Now, the only remedy for an inflection point, of course, is another inflection point. If you're trending down, you have to experience one to move back up. Here's hoping I experience one in the coming few months.