Aim:
1. To direct a course: to point a weapon
2. To direct to or toward a specified object
This is an interesting discussion. If you cannot state what you mean and what you are doing then you can not have a thorough comprehension of how to control the process. Apparently many people in this discussion do not know what they are doing when they pocket an object ball and obtain a specific positional result. Understanding the process and the variables involved leads to the ability to generalize from one situation to another and to use the primary variables to perform tasks that have not been performed before. This includes the infinite number of shots and positional results that are possible when playing pool.
Using Webster's definition, it seems to me that when making a pool "shot," one must aim several things and in this sense the word "aim" is misleading and probably inappropriate for playing pool because one is not trying to accomplish one objective as is implied in the definition of the word. The word is too simple for what actually occurs.
The OB must be aimed at the pocket.
The CB must be aimed at a specific point on the OB
The cue stick must be aimed at a specific place on the CB to obtain a positional result.
In fact a pool shot requires aiming at several things in a sequential manner.
To accomplish this and obtain the necessary CB position, the CB can be struck in different places to achieve the desired result. Thus, one must consider the effects of hitting off center to send a CB down a particular straight or curved line of travel.
The player is aiming several things sequentially. Apparently some people think that they simply look at a shot and know what to do. However the human brain is not a parallel processing machine when it comes to such things as aiming. There is a sequence of operations that result in an aim. If the player understand this sequence the player can intervene at the appropriate place to achieve a particular objective.
The player has to know the OB line of travel before they can decide where to hit the OB. Therefore the initial or starting point in aiming is with the OB line of travel.
When the OB contact point has been determined the player must determine the initial line of travel to strike the contact point. This line is then modified to obtain the desired position after the shot. The player must then aim at a specific point with specific power to accomplish this objective. Power and stroke type determination is a part of the aiming process if one aims for a desired CB resulting position.
To obtain the intended result the player must aim the cue stick down a particular line of travel so the CB will be moved along this line with a particular amount of spin. In this sense the cue stick is aimed.
With training the OB line of travel, contact point, and CB line of travel can be rapidly, and sequentially, determined. The most difficult part of the aiming process is the determination of the cue stick contact point and the needed stroke type and power.
I suspect that this is where players state that they develop a "feel" for the game. In reality the brain learns how to combine these variables to obtain a result. This type of learning is non-verbal. None-the-less it is a specific, sequential process that may go through several iterations to search for a result. I suspect that for some shots the primary concern is with power, on other shots the primary concern is with spin. None-the-less the combination of these variables is part of the aim result.
Aiming at a pool table is a complex process. I suspect that different people use different sequences when it comes to stroke determination. The same person may use different sequences for different shots. While one cannot know, without a more thorough study, it may well be that highly accomplished players have a process for determining what sequence they use for overall consistency.
I suspect that talking one's self through the aiming process might be quite revealing for many people who think they shoot by feel. But then pool appeals to many of us because it relies on non-verbal assessment.
