Help: How is Reputation Calculated/Gained

Hey everyone, I'm brand new to Steemit and have been trying to dig in as much as possible. I have read the entire whitepaper and tons of informational posts from other Steemians, but here's the topic I haven't found the answer to.

credit: Norm Juno

The distribution curve for reputation seems to be bell shaped with the median being somewhere between 60 and 65 (this is taken from my observation of new posts, so reality might be skewed lower). As I started posting, commenting, and interacting with community members, I noticed that my reputation was skyrocketing. Within a day, I was at 46. The next day I reached 50. The last couple of days it hasn't budged from 50.

It seems to me that reputation gains needed for an additional level are exponentially greater each level, but is that math available somewhere? What variables are most important? Is it more about waiting for a whale to vote on your posts than to interact with normal Steemians in discussions?

I appreciate any help you can throw my way, and I'm sure other Newbies will benefit from this info as well.

Thanks!

Jumpy