Some thoughts about vision (long)

stan shuffett

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Real CTE was not supposed to be. I have repeated that statement many times. Hal Houle stated that to me about 12 years ago. I did not understand his comment at the time but my grasp of what Hal meant has much greater meaning after my many years of perceptual work concerning CB OB relationships.

As pool players we have various “hardwired” specific perceptions concerning the area of aiming. Through one’s visual intelligence, visual constructions are made and used over and over for pocketing balls. Changing these constructions can be difficult. What we see is basically what we have constructed and there are specific rules that we all follow. What we construct is not all that susceptible to change by conscious effort. When something like CTE comes along that is different and odd, at very the least, it’s understandable when a player does not get it. One’s visual constructive processes seem to be hardwired. In other words, not gonna change.

Typical methods of aiming such as GB, CPs, and fractions have no connection to the geometry of a regulation table. In these types of aiming one simply constructs what is felt or what one feels is needed in terms of CB OB relationships.

The value of CTE is that there are two 3D perceptions that can be objectively described that have geometric connections to the right angles of a regulation table. The two perceptions, 15 and 30 degrees, can make all shots on a pool table and most of the time make them to the desired pocket. Change the perceptions of 15 and 30 and CTE does not work. Change the critical angles of a regulation table, 15, 30 and 45 degrees and CTE will not work.

The CTE perceptions are unique because they reside outside of our typical rules for viewing. In other words, if you are interested in real CTE you must engage visually outside of the box. It takes a little time to learn the CTE perceptions but the learning curve can be short for many students, particularly those that understand that CTE is an aiming process that occurs on a different plane or in a completely new dimension.

Our visual system is biased and only constructs 3D images according to the set rules by which we all learn to see. We all employ many standard visual rules. Many rules are yet to be uncovered. There can be no doubt that real CTE falls into a method of seeing entirely of its own domain. One day a new rule or two may emerge as a direct result of spheres and how they can be viewed on a pool table as an initial step in connecting with the 90 degree angles on a 2 x 1 table.

A fundamental of problem of vision is that an “image at the eye” has countless interpretations. Our visual world has three spatial dimensions: height, width and depth. An image has only two dimensions: height and width. For a given view, if two players view the same 3D CB OB relationship from the same place, then each player will or can obtain the same image.
CTE PRO ONE as a visual system can be successfully used by any player as a result of the above mentioned principle. CTE was not supposed to be. Pool is a perceptual/motor game. Perception rules over math on the table. Perception is of its own intelligence just as math is of its own intelligence. Perception must not be viewed as some mindless function.

There has been a lot progress made in the area of visual intelligence. The list is long; television, movies, virtual reality, smart bombs, cameras on Mars, computer vision systems and so much more......but the above list is only a hint of what is ahead as we further explore and discover the creative genius of the mind’s eye.

Stan Shuffett

Reference: Visual Intelligence; How We Create What We See by Donald D. Hoffman
 
I agree with this and actually it's easy to understand if one accepts that optical illusions exist which they clearly do. If a person can be totally fooled by an optical illusion and INSIST that something exists in a form or shape that it absolutely does not by the fact that they stand in one position to view it as opposed to another position then it's easy to understand that if one is able to change from one perspective to another then it's entirely possible that the other perspective is in reality the right one.

To me aiming using ghost balls or simply looking at the balls and trying to somehow make connections to contact points is the intuitive way we do it in life. You want to hammer a nail you don't use a system per se to do that you simply use your judgement - but how many of us have hammed our thumb instead? Judgement of course is what gets us through life - but pure feeling and judgement is not always the best technique when specific and consistent results are desired.

Just about all sports use objective visualization methods to reduce the amount of pure feel a player relies on. People who spend their lives thinking about it come up with these methods to improve the player's abilities to the highest degree possible. Good coaches evaluate every method and adopt the ones they know produce those consistent results.

In pool I think it's incredibly easy to look at a shot and feel with 100% certainty that you are 100% on the correct shot - then to shoot it with a perfect textbook stroke and miss because in fact you were not on the correct shot line. I think as you move through a rack of nine ball or whatever game you may shoot 8 perfect shots and then line up wrong on the 9th one in complete confidence that you are correct. This may happen once or twice a game or if you're a better player once or twice a set. But you might not even realize that you were lined up wrong because you are tuned in to the shots you made.

When using Hal's methods and now ProOne - especially in the beginning I had many many many "this is wrong" moments where the system line FELT completely wrong. I had to force myself to pull the trigger anyway and accept the line no matter what. Eventually those moments subsided until the shot picture changed in my mind and I began to simply see and accept the lines given and KNOW that they are right.

From there then I can adjust to a touch thicker or thinner if I want to depending on what the position requires. I feel that CTE takes the optical illusion completely out of the picture and allows you to see the spheres very concretely in relation to each other. It reduces the estimation to virtually nothing.

I agree with Hal and you. This wasn't "meant" to be because it doesn't fit with the 2d world of pool diagrams. This 3 dimensional way of using your senses in a different way had to be discovered and refined and then, the hardest part, articulated. When Hal first showed me his systems I thought he was crazy. I really thought it was complicated hogwash. UNTIL the balls started going in from everywhere.

It is certainly more complicated than ghost ball but it's way way way better in my opinion. The way I perceive lines now is amazing. AND the added benefit is that once I find the shot line as given I can see the tangent line as if if were a burning laser line going away from the object ball. This allows me to get the cue ball into and out places I was previously scared to go into.
 
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