This is the type of response you can expect if you don't chug the koolade and attempt to ask questions about CTE.
I believe it was grape Flavor Aid.
There are good points of CTE which can be applied to any aiming method. The dual reference of the edge and center of the cue ball is nice. If you see where the edge of the CB is, then imagine where the center must hit, it has a tendency to minimize judgement errors. Focusing on both aim points also makes good use of both of your eyes and depth perception feels better if you're doing so. No idea if this is true, but it feels that way. Focus better, see better, hit target better. Focusing doesn't belong to only CTE but focus is an often neglected aspect of early training.
Another good point is learning about pivots. Sometimes when a shot just doesn't look quite right, or you have to cancel out a ton of spin, a pivot can help. Pivots aren't solely in the realm of CTE however. Not to derail the thread, but CJ does TOI. What is TOI but a slight pivot? There's something there though it won't make much sense without feeling it. People have been experimenting for years with such things, there's lessons to be learned there, good or bad, info is info.
The part about aiming while standing is a very strong foundation, though again, it's not the sole domain of CTE. The AL SL PL and all that seems very confusing at first, but if you just roll with it, it does start to make sense, though I'm not entirely convinced it's describing what's going on. I'll give the benefit of the doubt because how the hell would you explain it? It's confusing as hell at first read/watch but it does start to make a bit of sense once you give it a fair shake. Not just CTE, but any aiming or lack there of... Stand there and actually see the balls. See them every shot. It's amazing how much better you shoot when you actually see the balls and not just smack it by rote. The pros look at the balls on almost every shot. If you want to make it and give every shot the best chance, you cant get lazy and have to see them.
Another good part is "poking your head out." It can be powerful to get your perception right in your vision center. Again, not the sole domain of CTE, but it is a good thing to understand how a slight pivot or "poke out" can help you see. I'd imagine a lot of better players stumble upon this by accident, but it is powerful. I honestly think "gearing" and "ticks" and all that talk is just a convoluted way of explaining how you can shift your perception to see things right. I might be dumb, but the round barn example... it just seems way more complicated than what is actually going on. Peek around a corner, or shift your vision to "eyeball" if something is straight or not and you already understand what's going on. I line parts up at work by eyeballing them and I can often get a 10 foot long part as close as 2-3 mm from square by eyeballing. Sure I need to get the scales/rulers out to finalize it but you can get DAMN close with visual trickery. Ever held a cue up to see if it's warped? You used a visual trick. Same thing with pool balls, use the right visual tricks and you can get damn close to accurate.
Limiting yourself to certain angles can be good at times, but it can also be an anchor on your neck. Knowing the 4 or so angles can help you plan natural follow and know where to expect tangent to be, though again, it's not the sole domain of CTE. A few angles is just too limiting IMO, but for someone learning it's smart to keep it simple. It's surprising just how many shots you can do with only the 3 base angles, adding the 4th is good for when you get out of shape or are left a thin cut. Though I've had some success with the very basics of CTE, but I'll not be giving my aiming system up, but it's nice to have a backup plan if the balls look funny.
Personally I've had a bit of success with the limited time I've put in with CTE. If I'm "on" I don't use it at all. If something looks funny or I'm having an off night, I'll often use the 3 places to limit my screw ups. Limiting myself when things just look odd helps. Half ball is especially easy to see for obvious reasons.
Something additional to focus on might be beneficial to some players. CTE does make you focus on the ball when it's easy to get lazy and just smack it without "really" aiming. If you're busy trying to find the aim, you're also not sabotaging yourself with head games.
Now for the bad, CTE is confusing as hell with all the terminology. The book has a glossary and such but the acronyms soon make it feel like your brain is dripping out your ears. I think the book is better than the videos as you can parse it at your own pace, skip around to learn or re-read things that you didn't quite get. I've bought a ton of pool books in the past and I don't feel $100 is out of line. It's a hard cover coffee table style book that is well printed.
Honestly I'm still skeptical of why it works. I have had some success with it, but I won't swear it's CTE or my subconscious making the adjustments. I have no idea how one would tell so I just won't touch the debate on this. I see both sides. It shouldn't work, but for whatever reason I've had some success with it.
The CTE facebook page isn't bad, they answer questions there but as you can guess they keep the discussion under tight surveillance. I've only visited it a couple times and it seemed like there was good discourse going on.
CTE fans sure don't like criticism so it can get them really riled up when any question outside of orthodoxy comes up. This is my main issue with CTE is the woe is me act, it's like delusions of persecution and an under dog complex rolled into some kind of strange brew. I get it, if you get flamed/trolled for long enough you can get quite sensitive. The thing is, they also flame/troll so it's kind of hypocritical to get upset about it. Who knows, the drama was well before my time and to be quite honest it all seems too tiring to bother with. The well has been poisoned for a long time so I doubt good discussion will ever happen, just too much bad blood. You're either a "cultist" or a "knocker" and there is not much room for rational open discussion.
You many want to correct your mispreceptions in the basenote.
