Diminishing returns

Olympia: The Age of Gods PBEM (Oct 4 2000)

### 3.3.4: Diminishing returns from study

        Of making many books there is no end;
        and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

            Ecclesiastes 12:12

Study is a mentally taxing activity. The more a noble studies during a month, the less advancement each attempt will yield.

The first seven days of study each month are fully effective. The second week yields 4/7th the normal advancement, the third yields 2/7th, and the fourth, 1/7th.

      days spent
      studying        yield
      ----------      -----
         1-7          full
         8-14         4/7th
        15-21         2/7th
         22+          1/7th

For example, a noble could learn a skill requiring two weeks of study by either issuing four `study` order for one month, or two `study` orders for two separate months.

Another way to view diminishing study results is that a noble who studies four weeks per month will progress twice as fast one studying one week per month.

This limit exists on the act of studying, and is not related to the study of a particular skill. For example, a noble who studied Shipbuilding the first week, and Combat the second, would have 7/7th effectiveness for learning Shipbuilding, but 4/7th for learning Combat.

Intervening tasks during the month do not affect the tally of study time. One could study the first week, engage in other tasks the second and third, and study again on the fourth week. The study command issued on the fourth week would yield 4/7th.

Study results are kept track of daily. For instance, if a noble studies a skill for three days, and then is interrupted, the three days of study are not lost. If the skill requires a week to learn, four more days of study are needed.

A `study` command which continues into the next month will revert to the fully effective rate of return. For instance, suppose a noble spent all month studying skills. The last study command doesn't finish at the end of the turn:

      unit 5499  # Osswid
         # > study 2900 (executing for three more days)

Although this study command was yielding 1/7th per day at the end of this turn, the remaining three days will yield 7/7th. The total advancement from this command would therefore be 3 4/7 days of study credit.

      Partially known skills:
         Scrying [2900], 3.57/21