Lies, lies, lies

Jeannette Lee's Q & A in Billiards Digest was kind of interesting this month. A young player wrote in about his dreams of being a top player but that his parents thought he was crazy. Most of the time, experienced players will say something to the effect of, only the very best can make it, remember there's no money in it, and you're probably not thinking of the sacrifices. The usual cynical mantras.

Jeanette's take was different and kind of refreshing. Basically, she says, dream big...and ignore the facts. "When I first joined the pro-tour......[t]he reality that everyone else saw -- that of a rookie in over her head -- didn't really matter. I had created my own universe, in which I was a pool player, making smart decisions. Before that year was over, there was a new reality in the rankings I was No. 1."

This kind of thinking reminded me of something I heard on WNYC's radiolab (one of my favorite podcasts) about self-deception and how research shows that honesty may not be the best policy....especially when it comes to competitive situations. (Basically, swimmers who rated high on a self-deception test tended to also be the most successful.) The best part is that the initial research survey used was concocted by two drunk scientists writing on a bar napkin. (If I didn't have to keep score on pool nights, think of what I could be accomplishing?)

Anyway, the segment self-deception is in about the last 15 minutes of the show.
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2008/02/29