Dr. Dave falls victim to his own experimental bias?
I didn’t want to add this to the thread that originally sparked me to write this because it would be off-topic but in the thread “Shaft Comparison” by Rico, Dr. Dave wrote:
If you want to know the reasons CF shafts are a growing trend, see:
NV J.12 - How to Select a Pool Cue, Cue Ball Deflection, Carbon Fiber, Revo vs. Cuetec
Enjoy,
Dave
Ok, I’m calling a “Gotcha” on you, Dr. Dave.
First, let me state that I taught myself how to play pool with your “Illustrated Principles” book. My copy has plenty of use on it. Only recently have I begun to investigate your website, however. I’m very detail oriented, so I notice some things that might just be passed over by others on occasion.
I just reviewed your video and the comparisons of LD shafts and the differences of the Cuetec and Revo shafts that you directed us to in your earlier posting in Rico’s thread. I hadn’t seen that one before.
I, Pool Sleuth Slim, immediately noticed something odd in the clip and re-watched the segment of the clip that that I was calling into question. Says I, I says to myself, “I thinks I’s gots somethin’ here”. Or at least so I says to myself, says I.
In order to determine whether my highly refined sleuth instincts were oriented properly, I went to a couple of your other clips to assure myself I was on the correct path (puns intended).
First, I took a look at both you and Bob taking ordinary straight shots in your videos. Every shot I saw had you and Bob demonstrating straight follow-through. No exceptions. I was reminded of what Phil Capelle stresses in his books, “All shots are straight”. I went to your video NV 2.6 – “Steering follow through” here:
https://billiards.colostate.edu/normal_videos/NV2-6.htm
where you say, “Inexperience players often suffer what is called stroke steer . . . It does not have good consequences, unfortunately.”
I bet it doesn’t.
So now, Wannabe Pool Hustlers, Chronic Pool Story Exaggerators, Imaginary Six-Pack Wonders, Pool Cue Pushers and Dedicated Rail Birds, I direct your attention to the video in question:
https://billiards.colostate.edu/normal_videos/new/NVJ-12.htm
Pay attention to Dr. Dave’s cue alignment on his test shots starting at 1:58 – 3:47. After stating in the video that his (Dr. Dave’s) goal is to “[keep] the cue parallel to the aiming line” on the shots using deflection, you will notice that the cue steers off center directly in line with the cue ball’s deflection with the most off center steering occurring when shooting with the Player’s cue. Stop the video at 2:59 and examine the shaft alignment with the Player’s cueball deflection alignment. Dr. Dave’s shaft is maybe 30 degrees off center. The shaft’s alignment with the cueball’s deflection is also almost perfect when testing the other shafts. Now watch the “Aim Compensation with Sidespin” demonstration beginning at 3:22. Notice the difference? Dr. Dave’s cue has near perfectly straight follow-through.
So I says to myself, you know, I says, “Listen, the odds of Dr. Dave’s near perfect shaft alignment with the cueball deflection as seen in this demonstration being coincidental or haphazard seems to me practically nil.” So anyways that’s what I says to myself after saying that to myself.
So, after consulting the staff Doctors of Psychoanalysis at the offices of Looney, Tooney, Head, and Shrinker with all my accumulated evidence,
we have come to the conclusion that Dr. Dave is indeed unconsciously attempting to steer the cueball in that video in order to affirm the predetermined results of his previous testing of these shafts.
Now, this is not to accuse Dr. Dave of any malicious intent in his demonstration. I don’t question the results. He obviously had already tested these shafts out and was just reaffirming knowledge in this video he had already acquired from previous testing. I find it rather humorous that Dr. Dave in his videotaped shooting demonstration would fall victim to his own experimental bias, even if the results are accurate.
Either that or Dr. Dave is really one of the “inexperienced players using stroke steer” whom his other video informs us about.
Prosecution rests.
Defense may now offer its rebuttal.
Your response, Dr. Dave?
As always,
Pool Sleuth Slim
