both dave and bob are very good players and can beat almost all here, and know infinitely more than all but a few and those must be a tie.
but if you believe in the myths or something different than science than thats okay for you. and possibly you shouldn't change as you would play worse using things that you don't believe in. so for some, tip shape, size, shaft size, chalk, etc. may make a big difference in your skill as confidence in your stroke and equipment do play a part in your performance.
I know Bob is a very competent player, I'm not so sure about others from the slide rule set.
My point is that when it comes to pool, we shouldn't all automatically kowtow to the tyranny of science because pool ain't all about the science. To paraphrase Paul Feyerabend: science is incomplete and we should take care when listening to intellectual imperialists.
Lou Figueroa