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Weekend


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December 19, 2003

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. Guys, got what it takes to make it as a major league baseball player and make a million bucks? Strength and size are basics, but what else?

    A. How are your eyes? Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams had 20/10 visual acuity, in the upper .1 percent (1/1000) of the population, say Robert Watts and Terry Bahill in "Keep Your Eye on the Ball: Curve Balls, Knuckleballs, and Fallacies of Baseball." Dynamic visual acuity: From 10 feet away, can you read a letter spinning at 100 rpm? Most people can read it at 33 rpm, like on a rotating phonograph record, few at 78 rpm. As a hunter, Williams was said to always be the first in a group to spot the ducks flying over. Contrast sensitivity: When wavy black and white bars are drawn, how close a spacing of bars can you perceive?


     
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