Can you be too smart to play good pool?

[Chopdoc]

In that case please tell the doctors you teach that they should listen to their patients and respect what their patients tell them about their own bodies and their own condition, even if they disagree. I've had to deal with a few doctors in my life who refused to do this, and each time they've been wrong about the situation.

Thanks. I'll get right on that. Never thought of it.

But since, according to you, you are right 100% of the time, you are invited to do so yourself. LINK.... LINK 2



You can do it live, one on one. Training doctors.





Interestingly, just as I have never met a doctor who is right all the time, I have never met a patient who is right 100% of the time. That is unique. :wink:

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[kollegedave]

I have a graduate degree. Should I give pool up, or should I try to not overthink things whilst playing, or should I just run into traffic?

kollegedave

 

[Chopdoc]

Here is something I noticed.

The players that need to work on playing and don't get to high levels of play, those that are stuck at B, low A level, tend to be more educated and have more knowledge in general than the real top players.

Almost all of the better players in leagues (at least in my area) are engineers, computer programmers and such, doctors, lawyers, high level trades people, those that travel a lot, etc, but there are no really top regional or pro players like that.

I don't know why that is, but I'm guessing those smarter and/or more educated people put time in to get better and try to learn all they can, but are missing the natural talent and time needed to get really good.

Missing natural talent? LOL! Why? Because they decided to go to school?

In my own case how about the fact that I work 70-80 hours a week? And when I am not working I am on call.

At one time I played a lot. At one time I was much better than I am now. But even now I guess I am pretty good. :wink:

It's more about time, dedication, and focus.

After pool I focused on becoming a surgeon. Next time you are playing pool ask yourself about the talent and skills that are needed to do that versus the talent and skills needed to do surgery.

You screw up, you lose a game. Surgeon screws up and somebody dies.

It takes a minimum of 13 years of education and training after high school to be a surgeon. Most do more than that. How many years of training is there before you are allowed on your pool league? :wink:








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[Chopdoc]

I have a graduate degree. Should I give pool up, or should I try to not overthink things whilst playing, or should I just run into traffic?

kollegedave

Maybe you can just watch live streaming? :wink:





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[pocketsplitter]

I'm not sure this is true. I once spent 15 minutes explaining the very basics of running vs inside spin and why the ball reacts the way it does in a very general sense. Then I taught my wife how to play pool (who is a genius) and she immediately and naturally understood so much about the game, stuff that is not learnt by lesson but by failures and experiences. For example, she intuitively understood deflection and how to counter-act it, she understood throw, she understood the tangent line, spin, curve, caroms. Basically she just had to learn to shoot straight and she would already know what ppl playing for 6 years know.

 

[Ratta]

It really depends how the two human correspond with each other- the communications skills of the *person* who teaches/showin something is a big factor.
In my opinion it has nothin to do with being dumb or silly or stupid.
It s just about how you transfer knowledge and what s necessary at a time

just my 2 cts

 

[Bob Callahan]

Pool is more of a creative art, thus "right brain" dominant.

Sadly, the whole "right brain--left brain" thing is a myth:

http://thescienceexplorer.com/brain-and-body/left-brained-vs-right-brained-myth-debunked

 

[Chopdoc]

I'm not sure this is true. I once spent 15 minutes explaining the very basics of running vs inside spin and why the ball reacts the way it does in a very general sense. Then I taught my wife how to play pool (who is a genius) and she immediately and naturally understood so much about the game, stuff that is not learnt by lesson but by failures and experiences. For example, she intuitively understood deflection and how to counter-act it, she understood throw, she understood the tangent line, spin, curve, caroms. Basically she just had to learn to shoot straight and she would already know what ppl playing for 6 years know.

Makes me wonder.

Have we seen true pool "savants"? (I use the term loosely)


Yes, we have I think.


Mizerak might be an example. I believe he went pro when he was about 13.


He was educated, though not highly, he was a teacher. Did that inhibit his pool playing? If he had gone on for even more education it might have...but only because it would interfere with his practice time IMHO.


One of the greats.





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[pocketsplitter]

Makes me wonder.

Have we seen true pool "savants"? (I use the term loosely)


Yes, we have I think.


Mizerak might be an example. I believe he went pro when he was about 13.


He was educated, though not highly, he was a teacher. Did that inhibit his pool playing? If he had gone on for even more education it might have...but only because it would interfere with his practice time IMHO.


One of the greats.





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Completely agree. Intelligence only dampens the game in terms of lost practice time while chasing an education (also not all educated people are intelligent lol). In a game where everything is spin, angle, lines, etc, I don't see how it is possible for a person to play worse due to intelligence. All things the same, including feel and stroke, I would stake my cash on the smarter player any day.

 

[Koop]

YES!!!
and this is exactly my excuse when I suck

Koop - wicked smaht (Boston accent)

 

[Chopdoc]

Completely agree. Intelligence only dampens the game in terms of lost practice time while chasing an education (also not all educated people are intelligent lol). In a game where everything is spin, angle, lines, etc, I don't see how it is possible for a person to play worse due to intelligence. All things the same, including feel and stroke, I would stake my cash on the smarter player any day.

Indeed. Educated does not mean smart...and smart does not mean educated.







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[Chopdoc]

To put the matter into perspective we can consider the opposite: how many champions or great players have been severely mentally retarded?


Is it possible to be too "dumb" to play good pool? Certainly.



For those that are encountered that seem that their "smartness" interferes I would say other circumstances are involved. Their available time to practice. Their teacher (teaching really smart people is really nothing like teaching average people). Their aptitude. Their attitude. More.

A smart person with a bad attitude will have some of the same issues as a dumb person with a bad attitude.

There are just so many factors to consider.

And of course there are different "flavors" of smart. Intelligence is much more complex than putting people on an IQ scale.




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[PoolBum]

Thanks. I'll get right on that. Never thought of it.

But since, according to you, you are right 100% of the time, you are invited to do so yourself. LINK.... LINK 2



You can do it live, one on one. Training doctors.



Interestingly, just as I have never met a doctor who is right all the time, I have never met a patient who is right 100% of the time. That is unique. :wink:

Interesting that you would infer that I claimed I am right 100% of the time (and right about what, exactly?). You might want to read again what I said.

I said the few doctors I had encountered who didn't listen to me were wrong about the situation.

 

[Scott Lee]

Bob Callahan...While it's a myth in determining personality traits, it is spot on in understanding that both sides of the brain are involved in playing high level pool. You can be taught how to bring both sides of the brain into more consistent performance.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

Sadly, the whole "right brain--left brain" thing is a myth:

http://thescienceexplorer.com/brain-and-body/left-brained-vs-right-brained-myth-debunked

 

[Chopdoc]

Interesting that you would infer that I claimed I am right 100% of the time (and right about what, exactly?). You might want to read again what I said.

I said the few doctors I had encountered who didn't listen to me were wrong about the situation.

I stand corrected.

You didn't say you were right, you said they were wrong. And you said:

each time they've been wrong

which means 100% of the time.


So my suggestion/offer stands.

If you are passionate about it, you can do something about it. Contribute. Help.

Perhaps you are unaware that what you suggested to me is of primary importance in medical education and taught/reinforced at every turn. But it does not matter. If you want to help do something about it, you can.

I am already doing my part, I assure you. :smile: Believe me, it is frustrating to hear about when it does not go right. I hear about it a lot because of what I do.






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[TCo]

Bob Callahan...While it's a myth in determining personality traits, it is spot on in understanding that both sides of the brain are involved in playing high level pool. You can be taught how to bring both sides of the brain into more consistent performance.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

^^^ true dat.

If you're so smart that you believe you're smarter than others and that justifies you not listening to experts about the game, you're "too smart to be good at pool" but if you're a bit smarter and can learn things from others that aren't as "smart" as you .... well.

Scott, I'm not telling you anything, you see it in students daily, I'm sure. While sides of the brain is somewhat a myth, people have creative/analytical within them. If you're in tune with both, pool isn't the only thing where you can be better than many.

Everyone, read "The talent Code" by Daniel Coyle. Deep practice, ignition, and master coaching. That makes a champion.

 

[Chopdoc]

Bob Callahan...While it's a myth in determining personality traits, it is spot on in understanding that both sides of the brain are involved in playing high level pool. You can be taught how to bring both sides of the brain into more consistent performance.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

There are numerous myths about this...and some truths.


When you consult a neurologist one of the first things he will ask you is if you are right or left handed. :wink:


When training at something, developing skills, knowledge, thought patters, and concepts recruits various parts of the brain in different ways. In practical terms it is irrelevant where those parts might be unless you are trying to diagnose a condition.


Effectively training somebody at something like pool will recruit multiple parts of the brain in different ways at different times, for sure, including both right and left. And there are individual variations in how this happens.


Where it gets interesting is teaching or training somebody with something more than mere individual variations but actual brain damage. I have done that. In two extreme cases I helped two young ladies with significant damage, called diffuse axonal injury, become pediatricians. Both had been in a coma after a car accident. They are both excellent doctors. It was quite an adventure teaching them, I learned a lot.

I have also taught people with dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, Stroke, Cerebral Palsy, Blindness, Deafness, and more. They nearly all became doctors. I can count those that didn't on one hand and those that did are in the thousands now. Over 2,000. But of course, the vast majority had no diagnosis, no disability.

Definitely an adventure in every case, and definitely requires creative adaptation to compensate for various things.


Mr Lee is well known as a teacher and I bet is well familiar with compensatory adaptive methods in training individuals.

Many can tell you how to play pool, fewer can do it well, even fewer still can teach it well....and even fewer can teach it well and adaptively for individual variations.


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[Bob Callahan]

...can learn things from others that aren't as "smart" as you .... well.

Good point.
Efren Reyes and Tom "Dr. Cue" Rossman have each said they have learned a lot from watching beginners.

 

[JoeyM]

Most of the "smart" pool players I know or have watched seem to overthink what they are doing at the table sometimes. Most of the "not so smart" players tend to see what they want to do and do it without overthinking it most of the time.

Besides overthinking, I believe focus is sometimes easier to achieve to for the "not as smart" player. He\she\it can focus on the task at hand easier than the "smart" player who is thinking about work\spouse\etc while also trying to play pool.

Disclaimer: These are general observations and your results may vary.

JoeyM

 

[Chopdoc]

Most of the "smart" pool players I know or have watched seem to overthink what they are doing at the table sometimes. Most of the "not so smart" players tend to see what they want to do and do it without overthinking it most of the time.

Besides overthinking, I believe focus is sometimes easier to achieve to for the "not as smart" player. He\she\it can focus on the task at hand easier than the "smart" player who is thinking about work\spouse\etc while also trying to play pool.

Disclaimer: These are general observations and your results may vary.

JoeyM

There is a definitely certain amount of truth in that.

One of the things I am frequently doing with doctors is breaking them of over-thinking.




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