Some can see ghostball better than others
Ghost ball is good for the beginner. Its conceptually easy to grasp and makes them a better banger. The aiming system is perfectly adequate for their level of precision of mechanics. The problem is that it brings you to a plateau for many of the reasons already mentioned in the thread. If you are to do that method, its better to think of the CB and OB as a cluster - separated by distance sighting down the cluster corridor so at least you don't mentally actually have to have the ball behind the ball visualisation. It is an abstract system though.
I think that fractional aiming has its place. It's usefulness is really not actually with making you a precision aimer though.
The spot between the overlap is flawed due to perspective distortion, wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Kinda works with thin cuts however.
I'm now learning CTE and learning everyday and am reading every post with excitement. I have spent many hours incubating all the information from spiderwebcomm on this site and his blog.
How do you know where the ghost (imaginary ball) is? If I use reference points on the ball like the edges and the center then I have something a little more tangible to use for lining up.
In other words you are correct when you say that all aiming systems, inlcuding ghost ball, exist with the goal to get the cue correctly lined up along the ONLY line that will work to pocket the ball.
But you can't say that the ghost ball system is equal to other sytems, i.e. that if a person lines up using ghost ball rst and then using another reference point aiming system that they will be on the same line. Those two lines may be the same or they may be completely different depending on the shooter's ability to correctly imagine where the ghost ball should be.
Last night as an example I played five sets. The first two sets I played primarily on "feel" and was missing a lot and predictably lost the first two sets. Starting in the third set I used the Hal Houle system I learned 8 years ago and started making balls from everywhere. It was like a different player stepped in.
Because I learned this system late in life I still have problems using it consistently to this day. What I mean by that is that I don't always force myself to use it as I want to be more fluid and not have to think about it. But I find that IF I force myself to use the system then after playing for a while it becomes more natural and fluid.
I just find that having two physical reference points when aiming as ths Houle system gives me seems to work MUCH better than trying to imagine an invisible ball contacting a tiny point on a sphere and shooting into that space.
Geometry and JB Cases (and others, for that matter):
As AtLarge mentioned about Tony Robles being able to see the entire ghost ball, plain as day, I'm also in that camp. I can not only visualize that ghost ball, but I can actually "see" it, due to excellent 3D spacial perception that I (humbly) was gifted with.
And my ability to "see" it includes all aspects; the size of the ghost ball, where it sits on the cloth, where it's touching the object ball -- and I can do this no matter where I am in relation to the shot, no matter where I'm standing at the table. I literally can see it so clearly, that with my eyes focused on that ghostball and never taking my eyes off of it, I can reach my arm over my head, extend my index finger in a pointing downwards motion, and then bring my arm down swiftly so that my pointed-downwards index finger pierces right through the middle of it. Or, from 6 or more feet away, I can extend my cue and swiftly bring the tip down to rest upon the exact spot where the ghostball sits, no matter where I am in relation to the shot; if I gently lay the cue to rest on the table, with the tip resting on the spot where the ghostball sits, and then walk over behind the object ball in line with the shot and examine closely, the cue tip is resting upon the exact spot where a cue ball would be sitting if it were in contact with the object ball to pocket that object ball.
I admit, this is a gift that I'm very thankful for. And I'm thankful for this because I realize that the majority of people don't have this ability. And it's become increasingly clear to me, when I read all these aiming threads on AZBilliards, that this lucid 3D spacial perception is not common at all.
So JB Cases, before you go asking questions like "How do you know where the ghost (imaginary ball) is?" in a challenging manner, please realize that different people have different skills, different levels of visual perception. And it's not a matter of eyesight strength, either. I've seen 80-year-olds that've demonstrated to me they "see" the ghostball very clearly, even with
Macular Degeneration. They've done the "put the cue tip upon the exact spot where the ghostball sits in-line with the shot" from over 6 feet away, which proves to me that they aren't hiding the ability to see the ghostball by using some other method. They may not be able to see the edges of the balls clearly due to Macular Degeneration, but they can certainly see the center of a fuzzy image, and can put their cue tip through the middle of it.
Just as is the case with folks doubting CTE, don't get caught in the same trap and doubt ghostball technique works, or that some folks do it better than others.
Just some food for thought,
-Sean
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