Science has long held that the curveball is basically an optical illusion. Here's an explanation.
Basically, they theorize that the sudden break of a curveball is caused by the ball leaving your peripheral vision and entering your normal vision. They use fancier words, but that's the gist of it. There are visual examples.
"Science has long held that the curveball is basically an optical illusion."
ReplyDeletei don't think that's true. some people have postulated this throughout history, including time magazine sometime in the 1950's, but have generally been proven wrong. curveballs are pretty clearly explained by fluid mechanics.
i don't doubt that optical illusions play a part in amplifying the perceived "sudden" break in a pitch, but i'm fairly certain it actually exists too.
Yeah, that's a total overstatement on my part. If there was any doubt, PitchFx certainly confirms the curveball. But hey, neat illusions.
ReplyDelete