Sports and 3d

[P3D Dr. George A. Themelis <fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have documented two cases of people with apparent lack of 
stereopsis.  One is Kathy, an 19 old girl who has failed all my 
stereopsis tests but still likes my stereo pictures.  She has good 
vision in both eyes, is generally healthy, drives a car :-) and she 
is not aware that she is missing anything.

The other is my friend Howard who knows that he has a problem with
one eye.  Apparently one eye is dominating his vision.  He has
failed my stereopsis tests and he does not show any appreciation
for stereo photography.  He used to wear glasses, now he wears
contacts.  The interesting thing about Howard is that he is a
great basketball player.  Now, wouldn't you expect stereopsis to
be very important in basketball?

Howard is also an excellent racquetball player.  He taught me how
to play racquetball, but no matter how good I became through the
years, I have never been able to beat him.  

For those who do not know, in racquetball all the action is from 
several inches to about 20 feet from you.  Your eyes are constantly 
following a small ball which you must hit with your racquet.  

One time I had an accident and got hit by the ball in the eye.
I continued to play but my vision became blurred in that eye.
I soon found myself unable to continue because I could not hit
the ball any more, exactly because of the reduced stereoscopic
ability.  My question is, how is Howard manage to play this game
and be so good at it?

If Howard can be an excellent racquetball player, I am sure he
is having no problem driving a car.

I would like to solicit views and experiences from people with
reduced stereoscopic ability, but I realize I am writing in the
wrong list. :-)

George Themelis


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