Which would you rather hire?
- The person who knows a lot but took a long time to learn.
- The person who knows little but learns fast.
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Neither of these would be part of my hiring criteria. 
If the vote included a strong work ethic and plays well with others, I’d vote for that.
Well, if the Know-it-all took his/her time learning elsewhere. I’ll hire them. I haven’t the time to train these days.
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That was my sentiment exactly.
Good point Biggs.
But with 2 sides on every coin, that which was learned long and slow elsewhere could come in as a laundry list of deeply ingrained bad habits.
I’d rather someone who is dumb, happy, and can pick up quickly on the way I want things done.
I think it depends. In my current position, I don’t have time to train and ramp up and mentor someone. I think in the right environment that would be great, but in my case I want someone that can come in and just get the work done.
I think that’s true across the board, these days. Mostly hiring managers want someone who can hit the ground running.
Learning style is a non-issue. Skills and attitude are all.
We’re desperate over here looking for either a Junior Artist or a Customer Service Rep who knows an inkling about the print industry. We’ve let several people go simply for the inability to pickup on how things get produced. They had great attitudes unfortunately. But when you come in on Monday morning with zero knowledge retained from the week before… I just… can’t
Please tell me this is not one job position. 
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I love a fast learner. Is there an easy way to test an applicant for this? Someone who can demonstrate that they love trying new things perhaps?
Every business is different and fast learners are best for training to start asap.
My guess would be some sort of test or assignment that requires rare knowledge, ideally unique to the job they are applying for. Give candidates 20 or 30 minutes to see how far they can get without having to have their hand held. If you normally encourage asking questions on the job, let them know that you do, but limit their number of questions on this particular test or assignment.
no, no 
- one artist, one CSR.
Unless I was hiring entry level, I would want someone who knew how to do what I was hiring them for
Thank goodness for that!!! Whew!
The speed at which new things come along in this business, I’d pick a quick learner any day over a slower one.
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As @DocPixel said. That wouldn’t be a valid criteria at all. There’s much more to look at in the personality and skills. And of course, it will depend on what you need and what’s your organization culture.