Where are Zeno and Cantor when you need them?
Was Einstein Right About 6 Million Shots on a Pool Table?
- Thread starter CJ Wiley
- Start date
they are based on themes and variations on those themes
Yes, there's probably less than many people realize. It's like the classical music scores of Bach and Chopin, there are numerous notes, however they are based on themes and variations on those themes. Music is mathematical and the themes and/or variations are formulas.
Pool is the same in many respects, there are themes of shots and variations of these themes... there are less (than expected) because many are duplicates and repeat themselves.
Yes, there's probably less than many people realize. It's like the classical music scores of Bach and Chopin, there are numerous notes, however they are based on themes and variations on those themes. Music is mathematical and the themes and/or variations are formulas.
Pool is the same in many respects, there are themes of shots and variations of these themes... there are less (than expected) because many are duplicates and repeat themselves.
there's not as many unique pool shots as someone might think.
These examples are different, in pool there's a finite amount of speeds, spins, angles, and distances. The table is also a finite size, so there's not as many unique pool shots as someone might think.
How many stars are in the Milky Way and how many galaxies are there?
How many grains of sand are there in a beach?
How many molecules of water are there in the ocean?
Are there any definite answers?
These examples are different, in pool there's a finite amount of speeds, spins, angles, and distances. The table is also a finite size, so there's not as many unique pool shots as someone might think.
I think there is a finite limit to TYPES of shots...and even then, there are
probably far more than our perception allows.
But there is an infinity of shots, because each shot is a unique occurrence....
...never to be seen again.....like every time you flick a lighter.
It might seem like I'm nitpicking, but I'm not.
When we enter the land of dead stroke, we are seeing that unique shot...
...not the IDEA of it....doing things by rote take us farther away from from
that magical realm.
In theory
Number of ways to play a shot seems to me to be nearly infinite. On another level number of possible ball placements for a shot should be finite. I would think if you take the area of the ball resting on the table in every possible position and every possible place the cue ball sits you should be able to come up with a finite number of straight in shots, it starts getting complicated when you add banks, combos, multi ball combos, two in one shots, etc etc. Wow now my brain is really working. I'd say you cannot shoot every shot possible in a lifetime, but can waste a lifetime trying to imagine every shot. I think we need a mathmetician for this one.
Number of ways to play a shot seems to me to be nearly infinite. On another level number of possible ball placements for a shot should be finite. I would think if you take the area of the ball resting on the table in every possible position and every possible place the cue ball sits you should be able to come up with a finite number of straight in shots, it starts getting complicated when you add banks, combos, multi ball combos, two in one shots, etc etc. Wow now my brain is really working. I'd say you cannot shoot every shot possible in a lifetime, but can waste a lifetime trying to imagine every shot. I think we need a mathmetician for this one.
Once more..If only there were only a way to wager on your erroneous assumptions, I would once again be a gazillionaire ! (assuming you had a gazillion)
..How long would it take to hit exactly the same shot, exactly the same way, with all the balls winding up in EXACTLY the same spot ?..Take the break shot for instance !..You could not live long enough to do it !...Not to mention ALL the other different possible shots on a pool table ! 
This is as true on a 7' table, as it is on a 12' table, but the odds greatly increase with table size...Even on a shot only two inches away, you may need a micrometer to TRY and measure it, but, the answer is very simple...It is virtually impossible to replicate, duplicate, or even accurately measure any given shot !....Is that not, as close to infinity as you can get ? :sorry:
SJD <--Often wonders, how a person of average [sic] intelligence, can generate such thoughts !!!
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I agree with SJD. CJ no disrespect but it seems like his one you may have not considered all the variables. Consider that in theory every shot could be made by jumping, masse, or any other goofy 5 rail bank. If we are speaking of straight in, it should be finite. As soon as you add any shot not straight in your opportunity is unlimited.
Let's make things even simpler; exactly how many speeds do we think exist between 5 and 10 mph? (two reasonably attainable cue-ball speeds) Assuming any given speed corresponds to a unique shot, the existence of only a finite number of shots implies the existence of only a finite number of speeds.
Do people actually think there are only a finite number of speeds within this interval?
A couple weeks ago, some friends of mine where arguing over probability. The reason for the disagreement was that they were asking different questions.
I didn't read all the almost-200 posts in this thread but someone must have asked this: For all the discussion so far, has anyone clearly defined what a "pool shot" is?
I didn't read all the almost-200 posts in this thread but someone must have asked this: For all the discussion so far, has anyone clearly defined what a "pool shot" is?
I have concluded my studies in this and tested his theory, Based on the fact he was not considering singularity and the variations of co-efficient of friction along with atmospheric conditions, Density of tips, composition of ball material, resilience of rail rebound, one must come to the only answer that , HE WAS WRONG, I came to a finial number , and don't try to dispute me , of the square root of 1 times the sum of all primes.
"it's easy to make pool difficult, and difficult to make pool easy"
A five rail bank is not considered "a shot" in this scenario.
There's really only 8 angles to make any shot on a pool table.
"it's easy to make pool difficult, and difficult to make pool easy"
A five rail bank is not considered "a shot" in this scenario.
There's really only 8 angles to make any shot on a pool table.
"it's easy to make pool difficult, and difficult to make pool easy"
That might be true if those shots are all fairly close to pockets and/or if the pockets play like "giant buckets" (i.e., they aren't very "tight"), but with typical equipment and average shots that come up in typical game play, the number of required angles is much larger; and if you want to target different parts of the pocket, the number is much, much larger. For more info, see:
number of lines of aim required to pocket shots at different distances into pockets of different sizes
Here's a chart PJ put together a while back that summarizes some example numbers for the non-pocket-cheat case:
Catch you later,
Dave
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A five rail bank is not considered "a shot" in this scenario.
There's really only 8 angles to make any shot on a pool table.
"it's easy to make pool difficult, and difficult to make pool easy"
Fine tuning is the difference between good and great.
..and maybe it's time to define 'shot'....
...hopefully it will refer to real life pool, not some computer simulation.
Please pay attention, CJ,....Here is YOUR original question ! (post #1)
YOUR adjusted question ! (..when you saw it drastically slipping away from you)
And here, is YOUR latest attempt, at trying to save face !..(which actually makes even less sense, than your first few questions
)Please pick just ONE wrong answer !...Or do you just like being wrong three times, per 'SENSELESS' topic ?..(That YOU introduce) :sorry:
SJD---PS..CJ, heres a good question for you to ponder, (which actually makes more sense).."How much wood, could a Woodchuck chuck, if a Woodchuck could chuck wood ?"..Just a little 2nd grade riddle for ya !
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There's probably less than 30 in actual practice.
That's why people improve.
CJ isn't far off...once you include more exotic banks, that's how I got to about 30.
That's why people improve.
CJ isn't far off...once you include more exotic banks, that's how I got to about 30.
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If I didn't see each shot as a unique experience....I would've quit the game long ago.
pt....only lasted 1.5 years on a GM assembly line