Critical thinking is a learned process. “Fable”, a poem by Emerson tells us “…all things and whether must be taken in together to make up a year and a sphere…” . In my younger years I thought of Emerson’s statement with the terms analytical or logical reasoning. However, when I began to learn billiards I found there was more to the essence of the critical thinking process. My understandings grew. To truly learn anything required a tactile or tangible element.
OK, I thought to myself, what about astrophysics? Where is the tactile element in that learning process? I read many books and decided that the variables incorporated in the physics community are what brought us automobiles and computers and all sorts of things to help us in our daily lives. I thought about the stars—I came to the realization that unless something is in the way, every star shines on every other star. Moreover, there was a structure in the heavens that embraced one star giving energy to another.
Well then, I thought, what about spiritual matters, where is the tangible element in spirit? I read the Bible and a lot of Eastern thoughts on the subject and found that by, through and in service to others, we can devise and learn new techniques for the welfare and longevity of man. I was given to think of each person as a star, shining their goodness and light onto one another, as does the heaven of the spheres. My proof is in the way I see things. If I love the process, when the last ball goes into the pocket, when the end comes, I have a clean slate and the absence of any existing restraints. Willie Mosconi taught me that. He said to me, “If you love the process, there is no competition.”
I studied physics for fifteen years always remembering pocket billiards as the beginning of my critical thinking process. I devised Rack-A-Shot, a pocket billiards system, as an introduction to my understanding of critical thinking. The system helps us change from the eye-catching beauty of making six balls in six pockets in one shot to events that incorporate the mental elements of stroke and the spectacular movements of the balls caused even by the way we brush the table felt. The system brings us to a place where we must consider the response the table cushions will add and subtract to and from the angle and spin of a ball. Once we come to an understanding of the inherent dynamic in the system, a dynamic that relates to mental and tactile forces producing motion, our ability to figure our way out of complicated places so we can continue to shoot short straight-in shots will come to the fore with greater frequency.
