Pool Myths Explained
- Thread starter JoeyA
- Start date
#28 you are spot on. great list Dr. Dave. Now that you have it, let's get a producer involved and start a Mythbusters billiards series (Tor Lowry/CJ Wiley producers???). Trackle 3 -5 myths an episode, you have at least 20-30 shows ready to go and sell to the European television markets. You could have some great pros make appearances both active and retired.
Hey Duckles,
I know you know a lot about cars and racing, so maybe you can help me out with something?
Please explain what it means to drive fast.
What is fast? I think I'm going fast while doing 80mph down the highway, but am I? Would a racer who does 200mph think "my fast" is actually slow?
This has been a very interesting thread. There are so many different ideas and opinions of things that I would not have thoughts twice about. Interestingly enough, many of the myths presented I disagree with as myths, feeling that they do have a place in pool, but somewhere along the way, he person writing them saw them from a different perspective.
Ron Swanson
Banned
Ever stop to consider the fact that I agreed with the rest of what he wrote? ...
Not really, no.
Thanks with helping with my point. These terms are subjective. From a persons point of view.
Fast is also used to describe the difference in two racers. One is faster then the other.
Now when you add values, you can see the difference in speed of two racers, ie how much faster one is then another.
But still slow, meduim fast are subjective unless you add a value to them.
Like medium speed on a drill press is xxx rpm, slow is xxx rpm and so on. Now these terms when used discussing how to do something on a drill press have real world meaning. Use med speed on this metal. Since med is xxx rpm, there is no guessing what rpm is used.
But if no value was set for what med speed is, then med speed would be a guess and not the same for all.
So, until there is a set value for what a slow, medium, fast speed is in pool, it's all subjective.
Oh, and when values are used.......they need to be in inches per second and not miles per hour.
Could be feet per second, but inches per second is better.
Like a ball speed of 1 mile per hour. Can you really know if the ball is going one mile per hour on a pool table?
One mph is 17.6 inches per second.
So go hit a CB count, one thousand one, the CB would have move 17.6 inches.
What's the distances between diamonds?
So is that a slow, medium or fast speed for the CB? There are videos using even higher speeds in mph out there....speeds that are never used in a real pool game. These are supposed to offer proof of something when the test conditions do not reflect real world usage.
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LOL
A good pitcher once said, he scooped dirt on his follow through.
What people don't get is, because of the follow through, the stroke behind it is smoother and straighter .
How come so many pros' shaft bend on the cloth when they're drawing hard ?
You can easily define how fast a CB is moving using any measurement you desire.
There is no objective measure of speed in pool, since there are other factors, ie table conditions that affect the speed. But that's no different than my example. Me doing 80mph down the highway is fast, but on a race track, it would be considered slow.
You apply to this to pool by adjusting to the table conditions.
Sir, the emboldened part of your statement, could be the best 'one sentence summation' regarding aiming systems, I have ever heard...Wish I'd said that ! ..As far as 'challenging' those addicted to aiming systems, IMO that myth could only be slain, if any one of them (no names please) had already eclipsed Mosconi's high run !...Hasn't anyone noticed, once one of them gloms onto their favorite "system" (TOI, CTE, or whatever) they ALL start blaming their mechanics, stroke, etc., every time they miss an easy shot !
SJD
PS..Even though they practice diligently, until their eyes bleed..they refuse to accept, (and will never admit).. that a lack of 'God given talent', is the ONLY reason they don't, and never will, play like SVB. (or in some cases, like an APA 6) :sorry:
So, to me faith comes also from proof and I have seen enough proof to believe in aiming systems. As well many pool playing engineers also believe in them.<--Seems like we have touched on this subject before, John...I see
you still refuse to accept my irrefutable logic !..PS..I can beat ANY pool "engineer" that ever lived
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Regarding aiming systems,
You might not be using an aiming system, but your brain most certainly is. With every shot, your brain is making hundreds, if not thousands, of Yes/No decisions IN A VERY SYSTEMATIC WAY. The brain does not operate randomly; the brain does nothing "by feel."
Some people are able to internalize the brain's instructions with very little conscious thought. For them, the brain's instructions become body motions so quickly that they say "it just comes naturally. I do it by feel." For these people most of their aiming is subconscious. Their conscious thoughts about aiming are brief and occur at just the beginning and end of the process ("Yep, that's the shot line.")
Other people need to consciously think about -- and organize -- the flood of instructions coming from their brain. They create "markers" at logical places along the thought process that help them arrive, step-by-step, at the final decision. Essentially, they've layered a conscious system on top of their brain's subconscious system.
Note that practicing an activity can speed up the brain's decision-making process. The brain is still using the same systems (conscious and unconscious); it's just able to operate more quickly because it's seen this situation before.
For example, I type about 72 words-per-minute. I don't consciously think about every letter; I type words and phrases, not letters. But I remember when I first learned to type and had to "think" about the motion needed to execute every letter. Since my job requires so much typing, my brain has practiced the process and achieved a level of "naturalness" or "feel." However, my "typing system" hasn't changed. It's functioning exactly the same as it did the first time I sat at a typewriter...it's just doing it faster.
Also, the brain functions differently for different tasks. In pool, the brain is mostly analyzing 3-dimensional, spatial relationships. The same person who needs to consciously think about spatial relationships (i.e. an aiming system user) might not need to "think" at all non-dimensional problems like a math equation. Even if it's the first time he's seen a particular math equation, he knows what it says just by looking at it.
Bottom line is that everyone is a unique individual whose brain attempts to arrive at the desired outcome in the most efficient way possible for that person. Neither method (feel or system) is better; it's simply what happens to work for that individual.
You might not be using an aiming system, but your brain most certainly is. With every shot, your brain is making hundreds, if not thousands, of Yes/No decisions IN A VERY SYSTEMATIC WAY. The brain does not operate randomly; the brain does nothing "by feel."
Some people are able to internalize the brain's instructions with very little conscious thought. For them, the brain's instructions become body motions so quickly that they say "it just comes naturally. I do it by feel." For these people most of their aiming is subconscious. Their conscious thoughts about aiming are brief and occur at just the beginning and end of the process ("Yep, that's the shot line.")
Other people need to consciously think about -- and organize -- the flood of instructions coming from their brain. They create "markers" at logical places along the thought process that help them arrive, step-by-step, at the final decision. Essentially, they've layered a conscious system on top of their brain's subconscious system.
Note that practicing an activity can speed up the brain's decision-making process. The brain is still using the same systems (conscious and unconscious); it's just able to operate more quickly because it's seen this situation before.
For example, I type about 72 words-per-minute. I don't consciously think about every letter; I type words and phrases, not letters. But I remember when I first learned to type and had to "think" about the motion needed to execute every letter. Since my job requires so much typing, my brain has practiced the process and achieved a level of "naturalness" or "feel." However, my "typing system" hasn't changed. It's functioning exactly the same as it did the first time I sat at a typewriter...it's just doing it faster.
Also, the brain functions differently for different tasks. In pool, the brain is mostly analyzing 3-dimensional, spatial relationships. The same person who needs to consciously think about spatial relationships (i.e. an aiming system user) might not need to "think" at all non-dimensional problems like a math equation. Even if it's the first time he's seen a particular math equation, he knows what it says just by looking at it.
Bottom line is that everyone is a unique individual whose brain attempts to arrive at the desired outcome in the most efficient way possible for that person. Neither method (feel or system) is better; it's simply what happens to work for that individual.
Sure, but I would bet most pros just visualize the two balls colliding .
After hitting hundreds of thousands of balls , they know how the two balls should collide . For cue ball control AND pocketing .
if you're going to masse' a ball ( a long one ) , how do you "aim" that ?
All you have is a visualization of how the cue ball is going to travel after you masse' it .
There is a way to aim a masse shot. I do it all the time when I masse. It is quite accurate for ME. With a different cue, or a different person visualizing what I do, it may not work. That is why I have never presented it on here. But, it does show that each of us can find a method that works for THEM if they shoot enough of them and really pay attention to details.
Ron Swanson
Banned
Ron Swanson
Banned
Amazing what some people still believe, despite all the videos proving otherwise.
This issue, more than other, is the single biggest disservice this site provides to players.
To suggest follow-through is not of fundamental importance is an absolute disgrace.
What is a disservice is your posting when your reading comprehension is so low. Did I say that follow-through wasn't important? NO! He stated that the cb can not even move without followthrough. That is patently false. And if you think it is true, you have a lot of studying to do. Try looking at Dr. Daves list and you will find it there. Then click on the link provided and learn something.
Here's a simple test for you to prove it false: put a coin on the table, slide another coin into it. The "cue" coin stops dead, the "cb" coin moves.
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