I believe the "fear" thing has two facets: the first being that some folks just want a very regimented approach to the aiming aspect of the game. The second is just the eternal search for a short cut -- a system that will garner quicker improvement, not unlike all the falderal about tips, LD shafts, and whatnot.
A feel based approach to aiming certainly exists and my guess would be that it is the most common approach among better players. There are just too many variables when it comes to shooting a pool shot for it to be reduced to a readily deployable system: squirt, swerve, speed, throw, all the cut angles, contact points on the CB, and cue elevation to name some.
And while all that is science based, at one point or another you need to let all that go and become an artiste and just feel it.
Lou Figueroa
I think it all come down to the dichotomy between reductionism and holism. The reductionists are convinced that true understanding can best (only?) be reached by dissecting and analyzing smaller and smaller parts of a problem. The holists realize that the sum of all these parts is sometimes (often?) a very different entity.
Reductionists are a smug lot by nature, because they can provide proof of each and every component they have broken the problem into. Holists OTOH have no possible way to demonstrate that the aggregate of these components often leads to a different thing than what was originally being analyzed.
Modern medicine suffers greatly from this phenomenon. The internists will look at all your "numbers", and both diagnose and treat you based entirely on those findings. A holistic physician will be more concerned about your stress levels, weight, diet, exercise habits, family history, overall physical condition, remaining life expectancy, etc. He will also listen to you, touch you, notice your posture and facial expressions, and numerous other things, recognizing that you are a unique organism who responds to his environmental input in a unique way.
I just turned 63, and as a birthday present on my special day, my doctor called me and told me that my recent blood work confirmed his suspicions (based upon recent complaints) that I am now Type-2 diabetic. Through all those years of looking at my blood glucose levels and seeing that they were just shy of the diabetic range, I was never once advised to cut back on carbs because I was slowly becoming insulin-resistant. In fact, I was always advised to increase the carbs and cut back on fats in order to lose weight.
When I asked my doc why I had always gotten this advise, he simply said, "We were wrong. That's why we are seeing an epidemic of obesity and diabetes today."
:angry:
So, what does all this have to do with how we play pool?
The reductionists, who favor a mechanistic approach to the game, will always be prying it apart into as many parts as they can think of, and trying to improve each part with the idea that their (anyones?) game will improve as a result.
The holists, who favor the "big picture", will have a more organic approach, favoring experience, mindfulness of their movements, focus, recall, and that illusive thing called "feel". They will use the knowledge where it is appropriate, but they will try to practice and play by instinct. They will recognize that each player's game is as individual as a fingerprint. Unlike a fingerprint, however, it may take decades to become established.
Which type of players are better? I couldn't tell you. This much I know, however. If I had to play the game "by the numbers" instead of experiencing and reveling in the feel and "table sense" that comes with time, I'd never pick up a stick again... no matter how many world beaters I could crush.
).