Are the best pool players also the most intelligent?

[Jason Robichaud]

I think most here would play or want to play this guy. Sometimes being smart is stupid!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQBeWCFsvtg&NR=1

 

[JoeW]

The neatest one I have heard was told to me by a schizophrenic. He looked at all of the balls on the table for about two seconds and said,

"Any solid ball added to eight tells you the color of the striped ball."

Blue # 2 + 8 = the blue and white striped 10 ball. Works for every combination and that, he told me is why the 16 ball is white (the cue ball).

I told my friend this story and she said, "So what color is the green ball?"

 

[btoneill]

there is a lot of physics and geometry in pool. it can be geeky, but i'm not sure there are a lot of geeks who play.

Hey! I resemble that remark!

I'm slowly working on getting more of my geek co-workers to play pool. It's quite funny watching them play when I throw them under the bus at leagues and put them up against a really high rank. They have picked up pool theory and safety play really quick. Their problem is, they can't hit the cue ball straight. A couple weeks ago one of my friends who is an APA 2 (they let men be 2's in APA localling in Minneapolis) was playing an APA 7 in 8 ball. In one game alone he had 6 safeties against the 7 with zero coaching. The 7 finally started just pocketing my players balls and giving him ball in hand just so he wouldn't have anything left to use to block with. We were all dying laughing during this match. The hardest 2 he had ever had to play.

Brian

 

[Jason Robichaud]

The neatest one I have heard was told to me by a schizophrenic. He looked at all of the balls on the table for about two seconds and said,

"Any solid ball added to eight tells you the color of the striped ball."

Blue # 2 + 8 = the blue and white striped 10 ball. Works for every combination and that, he told me is why the 16 ball is white (the cue ball).

I told my friend this story and she said, "So what color is the green ball?"

What is colour blind?

 

[btoneill]

It is also true that intelligent people, those with a high intelligent quotient, may sometimes end up in mental institutions with mental illnesses.

Many studies have shown that people with high IQ's are more likely to suffer from depression. My theory on this is that stupid people are too stupid to realize that the everything sucks, hence they have no reason to be unhappy

 

[Nevaskard]

Pro players......95% skill 5% luck....

Regular league players 70% skill, 30% luck....

No-brain players 10% skill....90% luck!!


To be really great at billiards you have to mentally know how to get from the very first shot to the very last without any, miscues, bad leaves, ect. So yes the very best pool players are those who are intelligent ABOUT BILLIARDS...

 

[deebee53]

According to Merriam Webster:

Definition of INTELLIGENCE
1
a : the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations b : the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (as tests)
2
: mental acuteness


I formulate my argument like this:

The term intelligence has to be restricted to the game of pool itself, or "pool intelligence." Intelligence in other areas of interest (global economics for example) is not applicable to the topic and must be ignored for the purpose of answering this question.

So, lets take the question at hand and make it an argument that they are the most intelligent.

The best pool players are the most (pool) intelligent.
The best pool players exhibit the greatest ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria.
The best pool players exhibit the best mental acuteness when playing pool.

It is tough to make the argument that there are players that can manipulate the table better or exhibit greater mental acuteness at the table than the elite (best) players.

 

[onepocketron]

Close, but not quite...

It's only the One Pocket players who have the superior intellect...

- Ghost

I like the way you think:thumbup:

 

[pt109]

Higher 'I CUE'

Many times I've heard the term 'idiot savant'(also 'autistic savant') to
alibi a loss to a player they can't beat.
It's just sour grapes,I don't think there's a top player who isn't smart.
This seems to apply to the golfers and fighters that I know....
..a moron can be tough physically but it doesn't mean he can fight...
..and there's the story of the gorilla that could drive a golf ball 400 yards...
but he putted the same distance...

But there is also the concept of 'smart enough'.
If a 120 IQ plays a 140 IQ....I'll bet on the one with the best stroke.

 

[JesseAllred]

Mark Twain had a quote saying having a good billiards game was a mark of a well rounded person/ well rounded intellect. Something to that effect.

Mark Twain also said:


"The game of billiards has destroyed my naturally sweet disposition."

:dance:

 

[smoooothstroke]

.......WuT?

 

[smoooothstroke]

Golf requires greater intelligence than pool ever will. Golf is played in three dimensions on every shot. Shots can be shaped. There are uneven surfaces to land the ball. Trajectory has to be accounted for. There are also outside interferences, such as wind, rain, etc..

Not to take away from pool, but to be played at a very high level, there is much more to the game of golf than pool. There are a few players that have become great at pool in a few years time. This cannot be done at golf.

I dissagree.Golf may be more complex then darts but pool has much more to it then golf.Pool is like golf and poker combined.Golf has another dimension yes as far as the phisics go.With pool you have to factor in your opponent in some of the games and in others you must calculated odds and many variables.Pshycologicaly pool and golf are the most challenging but with golf your opponent realy cannot effect your game in any way directly.With pool your opponent can dictate what you see when you next come to the table.Also I have seen some great jump shooters who take pool to a third dimension.While there is no rain in most pool rooms you do have varying conditions as far as humidity that effect the play.If you play in some of the bars ive played in you may encounter all kinds of conditions.

 

[smoooothstroke]

Here was your original statement:



You're the one that put pool players on a pedestal above bowlers, golfers, etc.. Mental toughness is mental toughness. It's the same, but different. To say that pool takes more intelligence than a sport like golf is absolutely ludicrous.

It's like saying Earl Strickland is more intelligent than Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan. MJ and Tiger are worth over $1B each. Earl will never have 1/10th of that. Nay, 1/100th of that. So, who's more intelligent? The pool player chasing the $10k payday, or the golfer chasing the $1M payday?

Tiger had a father who was a golfer and taught him the game at a young age.Yes he exelled more then any other golfer before him.Jordan had tremedous phisical skills and more determination then possibly any other athlete/gamesman before him.Both became rich by not only being the best at thier game but by marketing.It had to of taken a great deal of guts and smarts for Earl to accomplish what he has in pool.Phisiologically all 3 men are different and all are well suited for the game they chose/were chosen for.

IMO it takes brains,determination and certain phisicaly skills to reach the top of any sport/game.

 

[bigg7]

Golfers

This thread probably should die but I just had this conversation with a pro golfer.Tiger isn't smarter than JA he has better advisors. Golf is a harder game to learn but as with all sports I have to be better than my opponent which means I have to put in the work.

 

[h2o4170]

Here was your original statement:



You're the one that put pool players on a pedestal above bowlers, golfers, etc.. Mental toughness is mental toughness. It's the same, but different. To say that pool takes more intelligence than a sport like golf is absolutely ludicrous.

It's like saying Earl Strickland is more intelligent than Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan. MJ and Tiger are worth over $1B each. Earl will never have 1/10th of that. Nay, 1/100th of that. So, who's more intelligent? The pool player chasing the $10k payday, or the golfer chasing the $1M payday?

It is AZ Billiards Not Az golf or bowling isnt it?

 

[driz86]

According to Hal Houle, Ralf Greenleef was of less than average intelligence. In his own words an "idiot savant".

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

Smarts

I've seen knuckleheads play great pool. Seen smart, successful people play great pool. Ugly people seem to have some sort of edge. Go figure. Never seen cowboys play great but they will gamble. Very tall gangly guys don't seem to play that well. Equipment is too small. Everything is relative and of course exceptions to every rule. My brother in law is the most educated and smartest man I know! He almost lost his hand changing a flat tire. We underestimated a player one year in a high level event. We called him the hayseed. Pig farmer overhauls and chewing on a piece of grass. Drinking like a fish. Great disguise. He was a world beater. Never be happy to play someone based on how they look!

 

[9BallPaul]

Exactly

I've seen knuckleheads play great pool. Seen smart, successful people play great pool. Ugly people seem to have some sort of edge. Go figure. Never seen cowboys play great but they will gamble. Very tall gangly guys don't seem to play that well. Equipment is too small. Everything is relative and of course exceptions to every rule. My brother in law is the most educated and smartest man I know! He almost lost his hand changing a flat tire. We underestimated a player one year in a high level event. We called him the hayseed. Pig farmer overhauls and chewing on a piece of grass. Drinking like a fish. Great disguise. He was a world beater. Never be happy to play someone based on how they look!

This is why I show up in cowboy boots and a jeans when I hit the bars. Nobody believes a guy in a cowboy hat and boots can sink a ball. Heh-heh-heh.

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

No intelligence doesn’t usually matter. You can train anyone to do anything. Some just do better than others. IQ on the other hand might help you process info but All you need is hand eye coordination and be smart enough. Having a higher iq should/could make games go faster. High iq levels are more likely to get bored and be underachievers. You can have a genius level iq and still be dumb as a bag of rocks to some. Cause they don’t know what your brain is doing. This is what I tell the slower guys when I play them. “You know what I heard? I heard there was a study which said the faster someone processes a table the higher their IQ”. When it takes them a few to get it, it all makes sense……(my little stab. I know some of you aren’t idiots and actually enjoy the pauses)

Making balls and playing safeties are more hand eye coordination and sometimes memory than anything else. Anyone with a ok functioning brain can figure out strategy if you give them enough time to.

 

[nick serdula]

World class pieces of art!.
Ask a stupid question. Mezz was a math teacher. Allen Kiel was a astro physicist. Then you had Erving Crane sold cars. They all knew who they could beat!
Nick