Aiming device

Stan Shuffet mentions this also. Interesting. Must have something to do with a dominant eye. Point at something across the room, trying not to focus on your finger, keeping both eyes on the target. Then close one eye at a time and see which eye remains dead on line with your finger and the target. That's your dominant eye. As a shooter you probably already know this.

There is actually a lot of research done concerning vision and eye dominance. One theory is that eye dominance changes depending on which way you are looking.

This is actually the underlying premise behind objective aiming systems. The idea that each person actually lines up slightly differently based on what they perceive and by using objective references which are going to be in the same place each time they can find the way that those references align which works for them consistently.

All of us have had that moment in league or otherwise where we put our finger on the rail and told the person shooting to aim here and have watched in helplessness when they lined up a ball off the mark, where we could fully see that they were not going to be close but were not able to take the time to correct them. That's what happens when someone has a single point of reference and they have not practiced enough to let their vision/brain connection adjust to where they have to actually aim to make the ball go where the reference says they should.

But when you have two reference points it seems to help with taking the illusion out of it. This is the disconnect I wrote about many times where the "shot picture" one has had which felt right but was actually wrong conflicts with what the two reference point alignment says should be the right alignment. I.e. when your "brain" screams wrong but the line is actually right.

The other day we did a spot on the wall thing and Matt said the 3 rail spot is where the door frame intersects and aimed the cueball at it. Standing behind him I said you're aimed wrong, one inch to the left. He shoots it and it goes three rails and in. I line it up and he says I am aimed wrong but the cue ball goes 3 rails and in. Both of us looking at the same spot swore that the cue was pointed somewhere else. It was a sobering lesson in personal perspective.

We can't assume that we all "see" things in exactly the same way. But we all exist in the same space and we have to interact with the same objects in the same space. So in my opinion the more that we can use objective references the better shot we have to be more accurate. This is why we use rulers when precision matters. And the more it matters the better rulers we want to use.

We all understand that there is a physical reality that must be obeyed. A shot line does not change because of how our vision works. So regardless of how it happens ten people in succession must be able to put their cue on the actual shot line which means their cues must all overlap in nearly exactly the same physical space. But all ten people might have used their eyes in different ways to get there.

Or maybe five of them didn't get there but were certain that they were on the right line. Maybe those five had no real reference points or single reference points that they could not cross-check as they lacked the techniques to do so.

I honestly think that now we are finally starting to understand how important visual references are to aiming. It's why gun sights have to be calibrated precisely to be trusted so that the brain can override whatever the vision is telling it if no sights were used. No one complains about the objective use of gun sights when they are calibrated precisely that I know of.

All that said are there people who can walk up and shoot either in pool or shooting guns without using the sights? Of course which is to say that those people have the vision that naturally focuses on the actual real position of objects, they are the above average in that respect.

For the rest of us techniques and methods and devices exist to help us get to the same level of acuity that they were born with. Can it be developed? Probably to some degree as the eye is a muscle but the brain may not be sufficiently wired to interpret the input accurately either. So much we actually don't know that any help is welcomed by people like me who spent a long time wondering why we were sure we were dead on right about the shot line only to miss even with a careful straight stroke.

one stroke said:

Few yrs back I was playing where Tom Simpson was giving a group lesson friend of mine was helping out ,and they had a devise you put on the rail and you shoot at the mark and it tells you if your seeing straight ,
Myself and a few others took a wack at it I as did a few hit slightly right interesting the worst of us hit dead center
What my friend told us that many players simply don't see dead straight , what's funny is when I shoot guns it's the same thing but I make the corrections in the sites or scope

Iv learned to make adjustments myself over the yrs being a contact point and feel player I just pound balls ,

Thought I'd bring this up cause even if your using a aiming system if you have that eye stigment as they call it you might have to make just a little adjustment

1

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A cheap sighting device, instead of looking over your finger, is a 3/4" hole cut in a sheet
of newspaper, with the hole in the center. Look at a small object about 20 - 30 feet away.
Starring at the object lift the paper. You'll look at the object with the eye that is dominate.

Placing the cue under your dominate eye might help. It could be neither eye is dominate.

.

There's been quite a bit of research into dominant eye in other fields. One would be target shooters, where in extreme cases changed handedness when shooting so that they can sight with their dominant eye, and have success in competition.

I think with technology we have now such as Google Glasses we could potentially see from the player's perspective. It would even be cool to have a pro wear one and watch from their POV how they run racks.

Read down to figure 14.4 and play the figure.
http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s2/chapter14.html

The issue is retinal disparity and it varies from person to person. Knowing what your individual disparity is then it can be corrected,

Have fun out there.

John

One Pocket John said:

Read down to figure 14.4 and play the figure.
http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s2/chapter14.html

The issue is retinal disparity and it varies from person to person. Knowing what your individual disparity is then it can be corrected,

John

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Great information! But I'm afraid that if discover my individual disparity I might drop a ball or two in skill level!!! Lol.

Perfect Aim

Isn't this what genomachino has been talking about with Perfect Aim? Discovering your personal perfect position as it relates to your personal eyesight characteristics. Not advocating but just wondering.

one stroke said:

Few yrs back I was playing where Tom Simpson was giving a group lesson friend of mine was helping out ,and they had a devise you put on the rail and you shoot at the mark and it tells you if your seeing straight ,
Myself and a few others took a wack at it I as did a few hit slightly right interesting the worst of us hit dead center
What my friend told us that many players simply don't see dead straight , what's funny is when I shoot guns it's the same thing but I make the corrections in the sites or scope

Iv learned to make adjustments myself over the yrs being a contact point and feel player I just pound balls ,

Thought I'd bring this up cause even if your using a aiming system if you have that eye stigment as they call it you might have to make just a little adjustment

1

Click to expand...

Yes, a very nice device.
Just put a penny on the rail and try to hit it from different angles.

randyg

goettlicher said:

Yes, a very nice device.
Just put a penny on the rail and try to hit it from different angles.

randyg

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Isn't hitting the penny contact point to contact point aiming?
Because if you aim at the penny you will hit the rail in front of it
Jmho
Icbw

one stroke said:

Yes ofcorse I know about dominate eyes however we shoot with both eye open even if your over your dominate eye you still might not be seeing dead straight

1

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In addition, shooting with your dominant eye over the cue, or wherever it feels comfortable, is no guarantee that your stroke will be straight. You don't fix all the challenges related to delivering the cue straight toward the target just by having your eyes in a comfortable position. There's more to it.

bbb said:

Isn't hitting the penny contact point to contact point aiming?
Because if you aim at the penny you will hit the rail in front of it
Jmho
Icbw

Click to expand...

Absolutely correct.

This device is about alignment.

Every test shot should be straight ahead.

Then see wich way the penny bounced. It's supposed to bounce straight up, not side ways.

randyg