6 ms·

I’m surprised it never happens because it seems as though the spin of the ball and velocity of collision would send the pin across more frequently than 3 times

I’m surprised it never happens because it seems as though the spin of the ball and velocity of collision would send the pin across more frequently than 3 times in 30 years from the top professionals.

zamadatix 6y ago
I'd hazard to guess it's more a factor of "professional bowlers try not to end up in the situation they need to pull off a 7-10 split" over how difficult it is to pull off once they're in that scenario.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  If you watch the Wired video, note that we can't program a bowling robot to convert the 7-10 split either. So while it's definitely true that professional bowlers will seek to avoid sticking themselves with a 7-10 split, the reason they're avoiding it is that it's impossible to pick up the spare.
bombcar 6y ago
I assume part of it is that top professionals that are being televised are usually getting strikes.
derekp7 6y ago
If you have a 7-10 split, generally you will want to pick up the one point (almost guaranteed) instead of trying for a trick shot that is almost a guaranteed gutter ball. So unless someone is down and needs to pick up the spare, or unless it is totally by accident, most 7-10 split conversion aren't attempted.
- panda-giddiness 6y ago
  This was my impression, too, until I watched the video linked elsewhere in this thread [1]. Frankly, we were wrong. Your reasoning holds for why certain splits aren't converted (eg, the Greek split, as explained in the video), but that's not the reason 7-10 splits are almost never converted. Essentially, 7-10 splits are rarely converted because they're virtually impossible. In fact, the only reason they can be converted is because it's possible for the pin to bounce off the machinery -- it would be impossible for a human to throw a ball such that the pin flew 90 deg from impact towards the other pin. Notice that a rubber (?) mat protects the machinery behind the pins, thereby removing energy from the collision and making the shot even more difficult. So even with skill, the shot still boils down to almost entirely luck. Moreover, the strategy for hitting a 7-10 split isn't much different from just hitting a single pin; the only difference when attempting to convert the split is the amount of force the bowler applies on the ball (apply as much force as possible). The shot really is just that difficult. --- [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26786469 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26786469
RickJWagner 6y ago
I think that'll be 3 times in 30 years on tv. Only the tournament finals are televised. There are hundreds of games bowled to get to 4 tv matches. I'd think the 7-10 is probably converted once every tournament or two. (It's mostly luck, and a by-product of great ball speed.)

zamadatix 6y ago

I'd hazard to guess it's more a factor of "professional bowlers try not to end up in the situation they need to pull off a 7-10 split" over how difficult it is to pull off once they're in that scenario.

thaumasiotes 6y ago
If you watch the Wired video, note that we can't program a bowling robot to convert the 7-10 split either. So while it's definitely true that professional bowlers will seek to avoid sticking themselves with a 7-10 split, the reason they're avoiding it is that it's impossible to pick up the spare.

bombcar 6y ago

I assume part of it is that top professionals that are being televised are usually getting strikes.

derekp7 6y ago

If you have a 7-10 split, generally you will want to pick up the one point (almost guaranteed) instead of trying for a trick shot that is almost a guaranteed gutter ball. So unless someone is down and needs to pick up the spare, or unless it is totally by accident, most 7-10 split conversion aren't attempted.

panda-giddiness 6y ago
This was my impression, too, until I watched the video linked elsewhere in this thread [1]. Frankly, we were wrong. Your reasoning holds for why certain splits aren't converted (eg, the Greek split, as explained in the video), but that's not the reason 7-10 splits are almost never converted. Essentially, 7-10 splits are rarely converted because they're virtually impossible. In fact, the only reason they can be converted is because it's possible for the pin to bounce off the machinery -- it would be impossible for a human to throw a ball such that the pin flew 90 deg from impact towards the other pin. Notice that a rubber (?) mat protects the machinery behind the pins, thereby removing energy from the collision and making the shot even more difficult. So even with skill, the shot still boils down to almost entirely luck. Moreover, the strategy for hitting a 7-10 split isn't much different from just hitting a single pin; the only difference when attempting to convert the split is the amount of force the bowler applies on the ball (apply as much force as possible). The shot really is just that difficult. --- [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26786469 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26786469

RickJWagner 6y ago

I think that'll be 3 times in 30 years on tv. Only the tournament finals are televised. There are hundreds of games bowled to get to 4 tv matches. I'd think the 7-10 is probably converted once every tournament or two. (It's mostly luck, and a by-product of great ball speed.)