Seeing dobule

M

Macint0sh

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A thing that's puzzled me for a while is my view of the shaft when I go down low with a closed bridge; it looks like the shaft is pointing both ways! Say that before it enters the bridge it looks to be going in one direction while it looks to go the opposite direction after the bridge. Kinda hard to explain, but of course it's an optical illusion. When I raise my head everything looks fine.

I was just wondering if anyone knew what causes this, or if I'm just a little loopy.
 
Macint0sh said:
A thing that's puzzled me for a while is my view of the shaft when I go down low with a closed bridge; it looks like the shaft is pointing both ways! Say that before it enters the bridge it looks to be going in one direction while it looks to go the opposite direction after the bridge. Kinda hard to explain, but of course it's an optical illusion. When I raise my head everything looks fine.

I was just wondering if anyone knew what causes this, or if I'm just a little loopy.
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My first thought was that you are "...just a little loopy." After I thought about it a minute, though, it seems like your visual focus is shifting from one eye to the other. Your dominant eye is focusing in one position, and the other eye is focusing in the other.

Try this to determine your dominant eye: Hold your right arm straight out in front of you, making a fist with your hand and with your thumb pointing straight up. Place your other hand over your left eye. Find some object in the distance with your right eye and "cover it" with your thumb. Now take your hand away from your left eye. Looking with both eyes now, is that distant object still covered up by your thumb? If so, your right eye is dominant. If not, then your left eye is dominant. Now do the same thing with your left eye.

I don't think that knowing which of your eyes is the dominant one will answer your question about why your cue seems to be changing position when it's not, but it might help you learn to focus so that your dominant eye stays focused.

I'm no optomitrist, but I have a lot of personal experience with "dominant eye" stuff. I had lasik surgery on only one eye, my right (dominant) eye, a few years ago, and shifting focus used to happen quite a bit, until my brain (not I) figured it out and now adjusts automatically. I read with my left eye and see distances (pool balls) with my right. Interesting phenomenon.
 
If you looking at the stick and your seeing two of them, your having a real problem. If you see two sticks when looking at the object ball, that would be very normal. It is very hard to explain though. If you look at a distant object and put your hand up in front of you, at first your going to see two hands, until you focus on the hand. Then it becomes one. It has to do with your minds ability to see depth.

The closer an object is to you the more crossed your eyes need to be for both of them to focus on it. If you look at a button on your shirt, you will see two noses.

The problem is that your eyes can't focus at two distances at the same time.

Are you waiting for me to come to the point and help you? Sorry, I don't think I can help much, except to reaffirm. I think it is important to know your dominant eye as gwvavases suggested. You learn to focus with your dominant eye and how your eyes see a particular shot. This issue is what I blame on the fact that when I'm cutting to the left I tend to over cut and when I'm cutting to the right I tend to undercut. So I've learned to compensate for this. when I start to miss shots, the very first thing I check is that I have the stick directly under the middle of my chin. You start moving that stick around and your eyes have to learn a new shot they've never seen before.
 
Quick and easy solution...

Don't go so far down on the cue, raise your head up a little and that would fix it :D .

Thanks,

Jon <<<--- (changed his stance so many times in the past year, don't pay any attention, but the one i'm using now ((kinda like Ralph S. with back arm further up the cue)) gives me the best results)
 
Macint0sh said:
A thing that's puzzled me for a while is my view of the shaft when I go down low with a closed bridge; it looks like the shaft is pointing both ways! Say that before it enters the bridge it looks to be going in one direction while it looks to go the opposite direction after the bridge. Kinda hard to explain, but of course it's an optical illusion. When I raise my head everything looks fine.

I was just wondering if anyone knew what causes this, or if I'm just a little loopy.
Click to expand...

_______________________________________________________________
Stick you finger out in front of you, you see a blurred image, 2 fingers overlay each other. Now begin to turn your head to the right and keep slowly turning until the two fingers become one, now you are in focus. Learn to do the same thing over your pool shaft. This is why when you view the vast majority of the great players in history from their photos they have their nose across the shaft at this 45 degree angle. Allison has changed and is doing this now also. If you drew lazor lines from both eyes they would both align on the aim point on the cue ball. You sir need to learn to turn your head until you find your spot that works, every person has a different spot.

There is no correct way to do this, if there was then how do you explain you can go into the 3 major magazines every month and look at the photos of the pros and see some doing the 45 degree across the cue, some are looking straight down the right eye, some the left and some like Lee right down the nose. Why, no two set of eyes and vision are the same, these pros found what works for them.

Hold that finger up once more and place your finger tip so it covers a spot on the wall several feet away. You see two finger tips, now close your left eye, if the finger on the spot is solid and stays on the spot, you are right eyed dominate. If you close the right eye and it jumps off the spot you know. If the opposite occurs, you are left eyed dominate. Almost all right handed players are right eyed dominate. If you are playing right handed and have somebody check your eyes and how they align and if you are sighting off of your left eye, you were probably born left handed and your mom switched you over as a baby and never told you this. Begin playing left handed and watch how natural the game becomes to you and watch the cut shots your now missing begin to fly in the pockets.
I have caught many of these lefties and when I switched them back to their natural side, they are almost over come with emotion as most suffered for years thinking they had no talent at the game.
 
ramdadingdong said:
Hold that finger up once more and place your finger tip so it covers a spot on the wall several feet away. You see two finger tips, now close your left eye, if the finger on the spot is solid and stays on the spot, you are right eyed dominate. If you close the right eye and it jumps off the spot you know. If the opposite occurs, you are left eyed dominate. Almost all right handed players are right eyed dominate. If you are playing right handed and have somebody check your eyes and how they align and if you are sighting off of your left eye, you were probably born left handed and your mom switched you over as a baby and never told you this. Begin playing left handed and watch how natural the game becomes to you and watch the cut shots your now missing begin to fly in the pockets.
I have caught many of these lefties and when I switched them back to their natural side, they are almost over come with emotion as most suffered for years thinking they had no talent at the game.
Click to expand...

Thanks for a lot of good advice. I've done this before and I'm left handed and right eye dominant. I write with my left hand, I throw balls with my left hand and I play pool with my left hand. Very left indeed.

The thing is that I can play and sight just fine with both eyes, but I can also center the shaft under my left eye and sight well. The same with my right. It's not really that I don't believe in dominant eye theory for sighting, it's just that I'm not sure if it's worth changing (I now sight with my cue under the nose) if I can't really feel the change.

My solution to the 'twisted cue stick syndrome' (NB: I don't see two cuesticks, it's more that it seems to go one way when it enters the bridge and another when it exits. Kinda like it's broken in two) has just been to do what BiG JoN said, raise my head.
 
Macint0sh said:
Thanks for a lot of good advice. I've done this before and I'm left handed and right eye dominant. I write with my left hand, I throw balls with my left hand and I play pool with my left hand. Very left indeed.

The thing is that I can play and sight just fine with both eyes, but I can also center the shaft under my left eye and sight well. The same with my right. It's not really that I don't believe in dominant eye theory for sighting, it's just that I'm not sure if it's worth changing (I now sight with my cue under the nose) if I can't really feel the change.

My solution to the 'twisted cue stick syndrome' (NB: I don't see two cuesticks, it's more that it seems to go one way when it enters the bridge and another when it exits. Kinda like it's broken in two) has just been to do what BiG JoN said, raise my head.
Click to expand...


I know I've read a few times that most of the great baseball hitters (I'm not going to get even a C for spelling here) Marris, Berra, etc, etc. were all opposite handed from there dominant eye. Right handed, left eyed - left handed, right eyed. It put the dominant eye closer to the pitcher.

I was going to get into this in my above post but hesitated, being that this is the unusual. Most people are same eyed as handed. I'm opposite so here is what I think.

I'm left handed and right eyed. So when I am over the shot, my head is turned a little to the left. Making my right and dominant eye a little closer to the cue ball.

Lets talk right handed though since that is so much more common. Opposite of me, if a right handed and left eyed person wanted to do this they would turn there head a little to the right to get there dominant eye a little closer to the cue ball. If your opposite handed from eyed, I would think you can benefit from this.

But remember above I had mention that it is much more common for a person to be same handed as eyed. So my hole theory here only works for those few that are opposite handed and eyed.

Why does it only work if you opposite handed and eyed. Because you'd end up with a pain in the neck. If your right handed and right eyed, then try to turn your head to the left to get your dominate eye closer to the cue, you are going to end up with a very sore neck.

ramadingdong is saying that a majority of great players do this. It has me very curious how many of them are opposite handed as eyed.

I've always thought this gave me a little advantage in any sport. It's been mentioned in all the golf magazines, usually in an article about getting your child started playing. They will suggest that if the child is right eyed, make them play left handed or vice versa. Because it puts their dominant eye closer to the target. Golf, tennis, table tennis, baseball hitting and I think pool.
 
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Macint0sh said:
Thanks for a lot of good advice. I've done this before and I'm left handed and right eye dominant. I write with my left hand, I throw balls with my left hand and I play pool with my left hand. Very left indeed.

The thing is that I can play and sight just fine with both eyes, but I can also center the shaft under my left eye and sight well. The same with my right. It's not really that I don't believe in dominant eye theory for sighting, it's just that I'm not sure if it's worth changing (I now sight with my cue under the nose) if I can't really feel the change.

My solution to the 'twisted cue stick syndrome' (NB: I don't see two cuesticks, it's more that it seems to go one way when it enters the bridge and another when it exits. Kinda like it's broken in two) has just been to do what BiG JoN said, raise my head.
Click to expand...
You see, it's the simple things :) .

Thanks,

Jon
 
Macint0sh said:
...
My solution to the 'twisted cue stick syndrome' (NB: I don't see two cuesticks, it's more that it seems to go one way when it enters the bridge and another when it exits. Kinda like it's broken in two) has just been to do what BiG JoN said, raise my head.
Click to expand...

Old Comedian: "Doctor! Doctor! My arm hurts when I do this (holds arm out to side and swings it like a pendulum)."

Doctor: "Don't do that!"
 
Macint0sh said:
...
My solution to the 'twisted cue stick syndrome' (NB: I don't see two cuesticks, it's more that it seems to go one way when it enters the bridge and another when it exits. Kinda like it's broken in two) has just been to do what BiG JoN said, raise my head.
Click to expand...

Old Comedian: "Doctor! Doctor! My arm hurts when I do this (holds arm out to side and swings it like a pendulum)."

Doctor: "Don't do that!"

:D :D :D :D
 
Just a thought: I've noticed that if I hold out my right hand to focus on the spot in the distance, my left eye is dominant; if I hold out my left hand, my right eye is dominant. Am I just contrary? Or are my eyes equally dominant? Or are you supposed to only use your dominant hand in this exercise? Finally, since I'm right-handed, perhaps this means I truly am left-eye-dominant? (I know one thing for sure -- my head sure is spinning!!!!) :p
 
Macint0sh said:
A thing that's puzzled me for a while is my view of the shaft when I go down low with a closed bridge; it looks like the shaft is pointing both ways! Say that before it enters the bridge it looks to be going in one direction while it looks to go the opposite direction after the bridge. Kinda hard to explain, but of course it's an optical illusion. When I raise my head everything looks fine.

I was just wondering if anyone knew what causes this, or if I'm just a little loopy.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert, but have years of personal experience with this problem. My suggestion is to go to your eye doctor (an opthamologist, if possible)...I think you've got astigmatism. Astigmatism bends the light, therefore the image. One of your eyes probably bends it differently than the other.

I've got it, too. The first time I wore contacts (with no astig correction) I was using a bar cue. I swore it was bent so I got another and it also looked bent. My left eye bends it to the left; my right eye to the right. After five years of this, by brain just kinda figures it out, but far-away cut shots still get me now and then. I'm getting it fixed with lasik soon. My opthamologist has been working with me for 5 (!!!) years before he'd agree to do surgery. I thought he was nuts, but now I know that it's veerrrrrry important to calculate the exact prescription BEFORE permanently changing my eyes.

Oh.....glasses can fix it today, if you don't mind playing pool with them.


Jeff Livingston
 
chefjeff said:
I'm no expert, but have years of personal experience with this problem. My suggestion is to go to your eye doctor (an opthamologist, if possible)...I think you've got astigmatism. Astigmatism bends the light, therefore the image. One of your eyes probably bends it differently than the other.

I've got it, too. The first time I wore contacts (with no astig correction) I was using a bar cue. I swore it was bent so I got another and it also looked bent. My left eye bends it to the left; my right eye to the right. After five years of this, by brain just kinda figures it out, but far-away cut shots still get me now and then. I'm getting it fixed with lasik soon. My opthamologist has been working with me for 5 (!!!) years before he'd agree to do surgery. I thought he was nuts, but now I know that it's veerrrrrry important to calculate the exact prescription BEFORE permanently changing my eyes.

Oh.....glasses can fix it today, if you don't mind playing pool with them.


Jeff Livingston
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That sounds strange. I've actually never been to an eye doctor. I've never had any reason to believe there was something wrong with my eyesight, and I've always scored the maximum on different tests (the army etc.).

I just screwed my cue together and tried sighting down the shaft. It didn't seem to bend to one way of another except for the tip looking to be hanging out a little to one side. Looked at the tip and it seemed like it had just mushroomed a little ;-) Pfew. I think you just made me a little paranoid. When I closed the other eye the cue "moved" a long way, but I could sight OK that way too. Guess that's just the dominant eye business.

I don't really think I have astigmatism, because there wouldn't be much doubt would it? I don't know what it really feels like, but I'm sure it would be a lot more noticeable. Anyway, tried sighting down the shaft with my chin on the cue (just used my desk) and the problem seemed to have vanished. That really puzzled me. It's been a few months since I've tried it because of the problem with a closed bridge (never a problem with the open bridge). I must say that I have no idea what's happened, but I think I'll try chin on cue again and see what happens.
 
Macint0sh said:
That sounds strange. I've actually never been to an eye doctor. <snip>
I think you just made me a little paranoid. <snip>
I don't really think I have astigmatism, because there wouldn't be much doubt would it? I don't know what it really feels like, but I'm sure it would be a lot more noticeable. <snip>
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Again, I'm not expert, but the facts that (1) you've never been to an eye doctor and (2) you're having trouble, indicate a visit, IMHO.

Eye doctors are as important to your OVERALL health as any doctor, and your overall health is important to your pool game, too, isn't it? Of course I'm over 50, so doctors are becoming more of a regular thing for me...sigh.

If it were me, I'd quit guessing and get the facts. The sooner you do, the sooner you can come up with a way to improve your pool shot. Otherwise, you might be chasing the wrong rabbit, so to speak.

And again, this is only my opinion, based on a lot of experience with this.

Let us know what happens, as others here might gain from your experience.

Here's lookin' at ya,

Jeff Livingston
 
you can look over one eye like ortman and strickland do. it's something i had been trying to develop myself.
 
chefjeff said:
Again, I'm not expert, but the facts that (1) you've never been to an eye doctor and (2) you're having trouble, indicate a visit, IMHO.

Eye doctors are as important to your OVERALL health as any doctor, and your overall health is important to your pool game, too, isn't it? Of course I'm over 50, so doctors are becoming more of a regular thing for me...sigh.

If it were me, I'd quit guessing and get the facts. The sooner you do, the sooner you can come up with a way to improve your pool shot. Otherwise, you might be chasing the wrong rabbit, so to speak.

And again, this is only my opinion, based on a lot of experience with this.

Let us know what happens, as others here might gain from your experience.

Here's lookin' at ya,

Jeff Livingston
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Doctors creep me out. Seriously, major fobia. I'm the guy that curses you out if you ask me if I'm sick, 'cause that's gonna make me sick. I'm 20, but I can't remember the last time I got a check-up. Must've been when I was six or something. Heh. I'll check stuff out at the table today, but I don't think I'm going anywhere near a doctors office until my stick looks pink and bent like a broken fishingrod :-)
 
Macint0sh said:
<snip>
I don't think I'm going anywhere near a doctors office until my stick looks pink and bent like a broken fishingrod :-)
Click to expand...

I assume you're talking about your CUE stick? :)

Jeff Livingston
 
I found this thread and can offer a bit more after 2 lasiks, 2 cataracs surgeries, etc....

Astigmatism changes during the day, from day to day, week to week, etc.

I still sometimes see the balls as not round but shaped like the letter D instead. Try cutting that shot.

After all these years of fighting it, I think I'll go back to glasses.


Bump for updates.


Jeff Livingston
 
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