Equipment does not have control. This is a lie.

[brokenball]

People have control. They also have consistency. This is important to understand. If you try hitting a TT ball as a certain point while using a robot you will find there is an error from where you intended the ball to go and where it really lands. If you measure the error as a distance you will find the error generates a bell curve. The area or probability under the curve is always one. Back in the dark ages when I was in high school, I had teachers that graded on a curve. The curve has a standard deviation which is just the square root of the variance the the Ratings Central uses.
What faster and spinnier equipment do is widen an flatten the curve. Professional players have a very high and narrow curve. The rest of us have lower and flatter curves but regardless, the area under the curve is one. What faster and spinnier equipment does is widen than flatten the curve. Faster and spinnier equipment makes increases a players standard deviation. A flatter and wider curve means our shots are more inconsistent.

A knowledgeable person can compute the standard deviation for a curve. 65% of all shots will land withing 1 standard deviation of the intended location. 95% of all shots will land withing 2 standard deviations of the intended location and 99% of shots will land within 3 standard deviations of the intended target. Better players have lower standard deviations than weaker players.

This is reality. Players have control but they also have consistency. Faster and spinnier equipment only makes a player's inconsistency worse.

 

[lodro]

Faster and spinnier equipment only makes a player's inconsistency worse.

I do agree with the "faster". 😁

 

[brokenball]

I do agree with the "faster". 😁

It applies to spin too. I could say that faster and spinnier rubber amplify errors but amplify is the wrong word. Exaggerate may be a better word.
I was trying to provide a topic so you can pop some pop corn and enjoy a beer since my last topic fizzled out.
Sit back and enjoy the show.

BTW, do you know what a standard deviation is or variance? I doubt most on this forum do.

In simulations is it easy to plot trajectories where the ball just clears the net but once standard deviations are added then the optimal trajectory needs more margin to account for the balls that are errors.

Players compensate for this. On nights where they know they aren't playing well they play more conservatively hoping their opponent will screw up more than they do.

 

[BaRanchik]

You are basically saying the exact same thing. You said faster equipment flattens the curve, and I would add a whole list of other aspects of the equipment that do the same.

What you are talking about is what players and manufacturers called 'control' to avoid diving into mathematics.

 

[lodro]

Sit back and enjoy the show.

I always do , I now just wait for the " true opposition"" so that the battle may commence 😁

 

[igorponger]

Little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Thickness of rubber +sponge combination is the key. Those without competence of
material mechanics will always opt for a thicker one. Shooting in one's leg. Sorry.

 

[Jslick89]

It applies to spin too. I could say that faster and spinnier rubber amplify errors but amplify is the wrong word. Exaggerate may be a better word.
I was trying to provide a topic so you can pop some pop corn and enjoy a beer since my last topic fizzled out.
Sit back and enjoy the show.

BTW, do you know what a standard deviation is or variance? I doubt most on this forum do.

In simulations is it easy to plot trajectories where the ball just clears the net but once standard deviations are added then the optimal trajectory needs more margin to account for the balls that are errors.

Players compensate for this. On nights where they know they aren't playing well they play more conservatively hoping their opponent will screw up more than they do.

You really think most people on this form haven’t studied some form of statistics? It’s a basic class required to get your college degree.

 

[DukeGaGa]

Control is just a subjective feeling of the result matching the human’s expectations of their actions.

 

[Shifu]

It applies to spin too. I could say that faster and spinnier rubber amplify errors but amplify is the wrong word. Exaggerate may be a better word.
I was trying to provide a topic so you can pop some pop corn and enjoy a beer since my last topic fizzled out.
Sit back and enjoy the show.

More spin = stronger magnus effect when playing a topspin meaning easier to land the ball on the table.

 

[Dr Evil]

Faster and spinnier equipment only makes a player's inconsistency worse.

Not necessarily. Smooth rubber players beyond beginner level will be more inconsistent with long pips.

 

[brokenball]

You really think most people on this form haven’t studied some form of statistics? It’s a basic class required to get your college degree.

Some may have sat in a class for a few months and never applied it and therefore they forgot everything.

 

[igorponger]

As a general rule, medium thick sponge of 1.7-1.8 mm would be an optimum, to give you most keen sensations in every stroke. The worsest woe here is the entire lack of medium sponges on marketplace.

 

[Zwill]

People have control. They also have consistency. This is important to understand. If you try hitting a TT ball as a certain point while using a robot you will find there is an error from where you intended the ball to go and where it really lands. If you measure the error as a distance you will find the error generates a bell curve. The area or probability under the curve is always one. Back in the dark ages when I was in high school, I had teachers that graded on a curve. The curve has a standard deviation which is just the square root of the variance the the Ratings Central uses.
What faster and spinnier equipment do is widen an flatten the curve. Professional players have a very high and narrow curve. The rest of us have lower and flatter curves but regardless, the area under the curve is one. What faster and spinnier equipment does is widen than flatten the curve. Faster and spinnier equipment makes increases a players standard deviation. A flatter and wider curve means our shots are more inconsistent.

A knowledgeable person can compute the standard deviation for a curve. 65% of all shots will land withing 1 standard deviation of the intended location. 95% of all shots will land withing 2 standard deviations of the intended location and 99% of shots will land within 3 standard deviations of the intended target. Better players have lower standard deviations than weaker players.

This is reality. Players have control but they also have consistency. Faster and spinnier equipment only makes a player's inconsistency worse.

What is control? Can you define it in table tennis?

Table tennis equipment has consistency too. It is something that is very important. If the equipment consistency is low then the players consistency will be lower too.

I can hit the ball on the table many times. What is that? Consistency? Control? Skill? But if I just try to hit the ball on the table in some way that might not be beneficial to my winning chances. One needs to hit the ball on the table in a fashion that makes his opponents chances of hitting back lower. So players who "gamble" in making 1 hit kills have less control because they make more unforced errors?

 

[lodro]

The biggest problem is of course that we are forced by the rules to use "equipment" to play
table tennis. 😂

 

[brokenball]

What is control? Can you define it in table tennis?

Table tennis equipment has consistency too. It is something that is very important. If the equipment consistency is low then the players consistency will be lower too.

I can hit the ball on the table many times. What is that? Consistency? Control? Skill? But if I just try to hit the ball on the table in some way that might not be beneficial to my winning chances. One needs to hit the ball on the table in a fashion that makes his opponents chances of hitting back lower. So players who "gamble" in making 1 hit kills have less control because they make more unforced errors?

You have control. You have feed back. The paddle, rubber and ball do not.
You decide where you are going to hit the ball, how much spin and how fast.
The problem is people do not have consistency to hit the ball to the way each time. This inconsistency can be measured as a standard deviation. The greater the standard deviation the more inconsistent your shots are.
Timo Boll has a very small standard deviation. I have a much larger standard deviation.

Faster and spinner rubbers exaggerate our inconsistencies.

Equipment doesn't have control. It is not a property of the equipment. If I hand my TBS+2xRakz7 2mm to Timo Boll does my paddle gain control? No! The paddle hasn't changed. Just the person that hold the paddle.

 

[brokenball]

The biggest problem is of course that we are forced by the rules to use "equipment" to play
table tennis. 😂

I don't see that as a problem. The problem isn't with the equipment as much as it is with the person holding the paddle.
However, I do think the "frictionless" LP ban is bogus when there can be "frictionless" anti.
After the ball leaves the paddle, it doesn't care what hit it.

 

[t.t.s.t.a.r]

BTW, do you know what a standard deviation is or variance? I doubt most on this forum do.

In simulations is it easy to plot trajectories where the ball just clears the net but once standard deviations are added then the optimal trajectory needs more margin to account for the balls that are errors.

Some may have sat in a class for a few months and never applied it and therefore they forgot everything.

firstly this is basic high school stats, not even final year, and please just don't assume that people have no knowledge that you'd like to think your special for knowing

 

[ericd937]

The biggest problem is of course that we are forced by the rules to use "equipment" to play
table tennis. 😂

We should throw all of it the trash and play with our hands. 😐

 

[Quinten]

To me the word control has two meanings in regards to TT equipment and play. When an equipment company uses the word "control" to describe a particular rubber or bat it can have two connotations to me. I came from the world of golf for the last 25 years. The equipment professionals used such as "blade" type irons had a tiny sweet spot on them and if you could hit this spot, (like pros can) you would be able to "control" the ball in any direction you want. Therefore, high level, precise equipment have tons of control. Wait... If a recreational golfer used these high control clubs, they would not be able to play the game with any control. For a rec. golfer to have control, they would need to use irons that are more forgiving to maintain control of their game.
So to TT equipment. Tenergy 05. In the qualified hands Tenergy 05 gives that person a high level of control. If you hit the ball a certain way you can make it do what ever you want. Yet the beginner would not be able to control their game using T05 at all. Mark V. A rubber that is considered to have a high level of control. Meaning that it is more forgiving and would allow a newer player to control their game.
I think the word "control" should be removed from descriptive uses in regards to TT equipment. It literally means two opposite things.

 

[Lazer]

Om

To me the word control has two meanings in regards to TT equipment and play. When an equipment company uses the word "control" to describe a particular rubber or bat it can have two connotations to me. I came from the world of golf for the last 25 years. The equipment professionals used such as "blade" type irons had a tiny sweet spot on them and if you could hit this spot, (like pros can) you would be able to "control" the ball in any direction you want. Therefore, high level, precise equipment have tons of control. Wait... If a recreational golfer used these high control clubs, they would not be able to play the game with any control. For a rec. golfer to have control, they would need to use irons that are more forgiving to maintain control of their game.
So to TT equipment. Tenergy 05. In the qualified hands Tenergy 05 gives that person a high level of control. If you hit the ball a certain way you can make it do what ever you want. Yet the beginner would not be able to control their game using T05 at all. Mark V. A rubber that is considered to have a high level of control. Meaning that it is more forgiving and would allow a newer player to control their game.
I think the word "control" should be removed from descriptive uses in regards to TT equipment. It literally means two opposite things.

It means how easy or difficult it is FOR YOU to control the hits and is basically an inverse of the speed.

Cheers
L-zr