May 16, 2009
The real curve in a curve ball is an illusion (interesting even if you don’t like baseball)
Like this post?
When a curve ball “breaks,” it’s an optical illusion created by the ball passing into the batter’s peripheral vision.
(via Barnabas Piper)
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If you don’t like baseball, I may be forced to unsubscribe.
…and there is a real curve. The “break” is the illusion.
I had thought the curveball was a physical impossibility. Evidently that’s wrong. http://library.thinkquest.org/11902/physics/curve2.html
Must be why I couldn’t hit the thing!
Thanks for the link. Enjoyed that.
That makes me dizzy.
Extremely cool!!!
The one thing I hate about teaching mostly in the humanities is the absence of this “gee wiz!” factor.
If I was a physics teacher I wouldn’t need a lesson plan for Monday.
Don’t worry, Brian. I like baseball now that I have a 4-year-old who’s obsessed with it.
Hi Abraham-
This has nothing to do with baseball or optical illusions. I just read the article that you wrote for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. It hit me so powerfully. I am not the parent of a wayward child (my three year old is asleep in his bed behind me right now) but I am the brother of a wayward sister. I recently visited my parents house and tried to answer their questions and articulate what it would take for her to come back to the Lord and found myself unable to put into words all that you were able to write for that article. I have no idea how long ago you wrote it or anything else about it, but I am going to send it to my parents right away and hope that it is of some comfort to them and sets some helpful guideposts for them.
I really appreciate your gift of writing and words, thank you for sharing them with us.
(Sorry to but in on the baseball discussion)
The curveball does, in fact, curve. It just doesn’t actually break as sharply as they thinks. It is a gradual curve that looks sharper than it is.
Bob Feller (maybe Sandy Koufax?) or someone in that era once said:
“if you don’t believe a curveball curves, go stand behind that tree and I’ll whump you to death with an optical illusion…”
or maybe that’s just a legend.
sorry.
Dizzy Dean.
Awesome!
very cool
Do I lose man points if my visceral response was: Neato!, while grinning like an idiot?