I'd like to say something about the new CTE thread and the people posting there. Where is the difference between them asking how CTE works and me asking how CTE works? It's that they already believe it works and I don't. But yet I am not allowed to post in the new thread because I'm the evil nay sayer.
New thread makes Sniper mad.
You're are TOTALLY WELCOME in the new thread.
The point of making that thread was to discover WHY and HOW it works without the "it can't work - you're all idiots for even trying" type of comments.
The idea is that the people in that thread hopefully should take it to the table and try it and compare notes rather than keeping it on a purely intellectual discussion.
I am hoping that people will get out there and try it and figure it out.
I am not opposed to the idea that there is feel and estimation involved BUT where and how much and how do you get to the point where you're so close that it feels automatic?
To me that is the essence of the debate. Intellectually, on paper, the geometry doesn't work - easy enough to draw a 2d overhead diagram of ghost ball setups and see that the center to gb-center works every time (not counting collision induced throw.)
So if you overlay the visual sight line that is Center to Edge and compare it to the Center to GB-Center line it's hard to imagine how one STARTS with CTE and the cue ends up on the aiming line of Center to GB-Center.
That much is perfectly clear.
The issue for those who use CTE is that they get up and make shots that they really, truly, really really swear on a bible never made before or never made consistently. These include those weird back cuts, thin shots up the rail, shots with funny angles where the balls are close together, steep angles to the side, etc....
A lot of CTE users are decent players. These are not stupid people. They understand Ghost Ball and grew up in pool using it. They know that using the Ghost Ball method they cannot consistently make certain shots.
Then along comes CTE (or similar systems) and suddenly they CAN make these shots with consistency. Then comes the inevitable question, well how does it work?
I don't know, it just does.
Imagine for a moment if none of us here could explain magnetism and one of us showed up with a magnet. The guy with the magnet would be ridiculed by some and revered by others. He be accused of using black magic while others would look for a scientific reason why two stones attract each other.
So the goal in the other thread is to engender positive discussion which hopefully will center around people who will take it to the table and figure out the why and how without theorizing about it.
That's all. You can be a naysayer but say your nays after going to the table with all the instructions and trying it. Then come back and tell us which part is tough to figure out. When you are facing the balls and you have all the notes printed out I think that you will have a clearer understanding. Maybe you still won't get it and maybe it still won't work for you and if not that's where the discussion should begin I think.