Eye dominance again

I never hustle, I tell people straight up that they will lose.
resistance is futile ;)

Jay
 
I have battled with the dominant eye for a while. I have gone back and forth from shooting with my cue directly under my chin and under my right eye.

When shooting with cue directly under chin, it seems to me that you can not see the exact point of aim. Your brain just puts the image together from both of your eyes. You know the direction the ball will travel and therefore can aim.

When shooting with the cue under a dominant eye, it is easier to see exactly where the ghost ball is or the point of contact. (It might take a while for your brain to cancal out the jumble seen from the left eye.) I believe it is ok to use dominant eye when you are over the shot, then coming down on the shot.(Keeping your dominant eye focused on the shot and putting your cue right under it.) But it won't be as easy if you get down on a shot and aim with your dominant eye.

When using the dominant eye, it is like a rifle. But who shoots pool like a rifle. You don't aim the ball at a certain spot, you see where the ball needs to be. In pool you have nothing to aim at. I believe either system could work, just be consistant in what you do. If you can visualize the shot, it doesn't matter if you are using one eye, or both together.


A comment on Blackjack's Text Test. If you read text, you won't be able to tell which eye is seeing what, but if you close your non-dominant eye, you will see the text shift, that is because that eye was not really focusing on the text. Non-dominant eye is used for demension.
 
Quote Des1Mone:
A comment on Blackjack's Text Test. If you read text, you won't be able to tell which eye is seeing what, but if you close your non-dominant eye, you will see the text shift, that is because that eye was not really focusing on the text. Non-dominant eye is used for demension.
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Wrong. Non dominant eye/dominant eye would not factor into this either. (What you are speaking of is depth perception, not dimension, and that is also achieved with both eyes, not one independaent eye) I would challenge anyone to provide any proof of the contrary. Dominant eye will only be a factor with one eye shut, and it doesn't matter if you're ambidextrous. With both eyes open, dominant eye and non dominant eye work together and send the signal to form ONE VIEW, not two. If you are seeing two separate images, you are:

A) Experiencing positional horizontal nystagmus
B) Inebriated, which causes involunatry nystagmus
C) Cross eyed


So unless you just got off a rollercoaster, or you're drunk, or you are cross eyed, pretty much you fall into the other category, which is that normally when your eyes are open (both of them) you see ONE Image. Admittedly in my obnoxious test, we are looking at a screen, and it is one dimensional. Doesn't change the fact that if you were to place an object (like a steno pad) on the bridge of your nose to act as a wll between the left and the right eyes, you would still be able to read this text normally, as if it was not there. Close one eye, and it is a different story.

You mention that the non-dominant eye is used for dimension. That is incorrect. Both eyes must work in unison to create depth perception (not dimension), and normally the dominant eye will serve that purpose, not the non dominant eye. Also, with the binding of the steno pad used as a wall between both eyes, close either eye, and the text moves. Open both eyes, and tell me which eye is seeing the center of the text. Answer: Trick question. Both eyes do. This is the problem with dominant eye theories in relation to shooting pool, a task normally performed with the assistance of both eyes, not one. When assited with the other eye, they compensate for each other and DO NOT WORK INDEPENDENTLY FROM EACH OTHER. Newsflash. . . you cannot help this either, and it is ridiculous to say otherwise.

Laura says she is ambidextrous, and she can toss away the mechanical bridge. Great. That still won't change what she sees out of either eye, nor will it change the fact that she'll have to learn the game all over again shooting with the opposite hand. Fran Crimi says dominant eye has a lot to do with head alignment. I agree head alignment is important, while at the same time I contend that it is all about alignment, and nothing to do with eye dominance. Eye dominance and head alignment (with both eyes open) have nothing to do with each other anyway. I am a strong believer in equilibrium, when the ears are centered with the shoulders (head not drooping forward) amazing things happen in shotmaking (due to stability, mechanics, and balance - not eye dominance).

Then we have the folks that say that my test proves nothing. My answer is, that the dominant eye "theory" is your "theory" and not a fact. When eye dominance becomes a factor in shooting pool, and the theory is proved, come back to the table and discuss it. It is a fact that when both eyes are open, they work in unison, transmitting signals to the brain that are interpreted into one image. Which eye is dominant and non dominant does not matter as what each eye is viewing is blended to fit one image. If your eyes do not do this, then I hope you do not drive, and if you do, I'm staying away from you.
 
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Quote Des1Mone:
A comment on Blackjack's Text Test. If you read text, you won't be able to tell which eye is seeing what, but if you close your non-dominant eye, you will see the text shift, that is because that eye was not really focusing on the text. Non-dominant eye is used for demension.


Sorry, I made a mistake. I meant to say. If you close your dominant eye, leaving your non-dominant open, the text will shift. Showing that one eye does most of the focusing. But you are correct, that really doesnt deal much with pool. Having two eyes is much easier than having one in pool. And I do find it easier with the cue directly in between my eyes.
 
When I close one eye or the other the text shifts about the same amount in either direction from the "center" (both eyes open), depending upon which eye I close. Maybe this is not the case with everyone and my eyes are just particularly well balanced.

The dominant eye argument would make more sense to me if we were talking about people who, for instance, have one eye that sees considerably better than the other one. Otherwise, I really don't see how "dominant eye" can make much difference if a person has both eyes open. In archery for instance, I don't believe people worry about dominant eye at all, rather they usually choose which side to hold the bow according to dominant HAND. At the end of the day, though, I guess it comes down to whatever works best for the individual.
--Alistair
 
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Blackjack said:
Quote Des1Mone:
A comment on Blackjack's Text Test. If you read text, you won't be able to tell which eye is seeing what, but if you close your non-dominant eye, you will see the text shift, that is because that eye was not really focusing on the text. Non-dominant eye is used for demension.
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David,

My father went blind from glaucome.For a long time one eye was less affected and he had great problems with depth perception. I think that this is definately true for someone who is blinded in one eye.

Two eyes working together help with depth perception as well as peripheral vision.

Perhaps dominant eye is a poor choice of word for whose who do not relate to that word. I do think that most people have one eye that they do better at for anything involved with aiming or they are more comfortable with using that eye when aiming,with the exception of folks that do well with the cue under the chin, using both eyes equally.

This is my personal opinion only. I think that folks who are right handed, but hve a preference for their left eye do best with the cue under their chin.

btw, i do have some nystagmus, although this has gotten better with sezure meds and I have astigmatism, which is sometimes worse than at other times.



Laura
 
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