6 ms·

Why Table Tennis is a Great Hacker Sport

29 points by jamesjyu 18y ago

wallflower 18y ago
And for those people who think they need a ping pong table, I bought this as an impulse purchase while at the bookstore and brought it into my relatively conservative office. And it's sad but true that that one $10 purchase generated more positive kudos than anything I'd done recently. Yes, it has hard paddles and the net is tiny but a ping pong break can do you good - (as long as the conference room next door (thin walls) isn't in session). Desktop Table Tennis Publisher: Metro Books Pub. Date: March 2008 ISBN-13: 9781435105966 http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Desktop-Table-Tennis/Andrew-Kirk/e/9781435105966 http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Desktop-Table-Tennis/Andrew...
IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
Though foos is the official sport of Yahoo, I've always preferred the ping pong tables.
- timcederman 18y ago
  I have the opposite problem. Ping pong is the official sport of Trovix, whereas I'm a foosball guy (doing a PhD where the staff room has a foosball table and a Mame machine will both make you awesome at foosball and Yie Ar Kung Fu)
  - narag 18y ago
    Same here. I wonder what's player disposition in the USA? I've played mostly 1 - 3 - 3 - 4 and a little 1 - 3 - 4 - 3.
- snprbob86 18y ago
  I was always a billiards guy. Not as physical, but it does wonders for eye strain.
rw 18y ago
Learning to consistently (>25%) hit the very edge of the table, so that the ball drops almost straight to the floor, is so awesome.
- sgibat 18y ago
  You wouldn't be able to do that with someone who plays fast enough. Even if you could do it on your serve 25% of the time, that's only an 1/8th of all points. And you'd probably hit a lot of your attempts to hit the edge off the table.
logjam 18y ago
Ron Graham was amazed that an elderly and seemingly frail Paul Erdos could easily beat him (may have been those damned amphetamines again!). So he (Graham) bought a ping pong serving machine, and eventually became the table tennis champion of Bell Labs (he's also an expert juggler and trampolinist). I think his wife Fan is also a killer player.
- jamesjyu 18y ago
  Yeah, it's amazing the breadth of age in table tennis. Many pro players can still play in their 40s and 50s, which is unheard of in other sports. This past weekend I played against this kid in the clubs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cws4TzPySdw&feature=channel_page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cws4TzPySdw&feature=chann... He's 5 years old and can barely reach over the table. But, he's able to back up 10 feet from the table and hit absolutely huge returns. I was able to beat him, but he definitely scored lots of points on me. Given that I'm rated about 750, this is crazy! Give him a few years and he'll be playing pro in no time.
  - mhb 18y ago
    Am I looking at the right video? That kid did not look amazing.
- pixcavator 18y ago
  >Ron Graham was amazed that an elderly and seemingly frail Paul Erdos could easily beat him Table tennis is a game of skill, that's why.
yargseiks 18y ago
It's probably not a coincidence that there were ping pong tables in the Computer Center and Engineering Center buildings of our University; lots of people played (I never got into it, though; kinda hard to play when you have tunnel vision).
wallflower 18y ago
My advice for those who want to be get better is to invest in a good paddle. For example, the Butterfly brand, $35+. And forget hard rubber "paddles", without the right rubber, you will never be able to spin the ball effectively.
- jamesjyu 18y ago
  There's a whole style of play called hard bat that people use, in which they only use hard rubber (or pips out). The fact that they cannot spin effectively can be an advantage -- they aren't affected by their opponents spin! Given the right technique, they can be deadly, since basically, any spin that you give to the ball is reversed when it comes back (very low friction on their paddle, so essentially their hit does NOT change the direction of the spin. So, for example, if you give them topspin, it will come back at you with underspin).
  - pixcavator 18y ago
    >if you give them topspin, it will come back at you with underspin You are describing the effect of "long pips".
    - jamesjyu 18y ago
      True, I stand corrected.
- pixcavator 18y ago
  Or try the newly invented "pistol-grip" http://tabletennisonly.com/images/SW_Pistol_Grip_Blade_All_Wood_small.jpg http://tabletennisonly.com/images/SW_Pistol_Grip_Blade_All_W.... Very ergonomic in my experience.
mattmaroon 18y ago
Hell yeah. One of the first things we did in Cali was get a ping pong table. It was a great breaktime activity.

29 points by jamesjyu 18y ago

And for those people who think they need a ping pong table, I bought this as an impulse purchase while at the bookstore and brought it into my relatively conservative office. And it's sad but true that that one $10 purchase generated more positive kudos than anything I'd done recently. Yes, it has hard paddles and the net is tiny but a ping pong break can do you good - (as long as the conference room next door (thin walls) isn't in session). Desktop Table Tennis Publisher: Metro Books Pub. Date: March 2008 ISBN-13: 9781435105966 http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Desktop-Table-Tennis/Andrew-Kirk/e/9781435105966 http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Desktop-Table-Tennis/Andrew...

IsaacSchlueter 18y ago

Though foos is the official sport of Yahoo, I've always preferred the ping pong tables.

timcederman 18y ago
I have the opposite problem. Ping pong is the official sport of Trovix, whereas I'm a foosball guy (doing a PhD where the staff room has a foosball table and a Mame machine will both make you awesome at foosball and Yie Ar Kung Fu)
- narag 18y ago
  Same here. I wonder what's player disposition in the USA? I've played mostly 1 - 3 - 3 - 4 and a little 1 - 3 - 4 - 3.
snprbob86 18y ago
I was always a billiards guy. Not as physical, but it does wonders for eye strain.

rw 18y ago

Learning to consistently (>25%) hit the very edge of the table, so that the ball drops almost straight to the floor, is so awesome.

sgibat 18y ago
You wouldn't be able to do that with someone who plays fast enough. Even if you could do it on your serve 25% of the time, that's only an 1/8th of all points. And you'd probably hit a lot of your attempts to hit the edge off the table.

logjam 18y ago

Ron Graham was amazed that an elderly and seemingly frail Paul Erdos could easily beat him (may have been those damned amphetamines again!). So he (Graham) bought a ping pong serving machine, and eventually became the table tennis champion of Bell Labs (he's also an expert juggler and trampolinist). I think his wife Fan is also a killer player.

jamesjyu 18y ago
Yeah, it's amazing the breadth of age in table tennis. Many pro players can still play in their 40s and 50s, which is unheard of in other sports. This past weekend I played against this kid in the clubs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cws4TzPySdw&feature=channel_page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cws4TzPySdw&feature=chann... He's 5 years old and can barely reach over the table. But, he's able to back up 10 feet from the table and hit absolutely huge returns. I was able to beat him, but he definitely scored lots of points on me. Given that I'm rated about 750, this is crazy! Give him a few years and he'll be playing pro in no time.
- mhb 18y ago
  Am I looking at the right video? That kid did not look amazing.
pixcavator 18y ago
>Ron Graham was amazed that an elderly and seemingly frail Paul Erdos could easily beat him Table tennis is a game of skill, that's why.

yargseiks 18y ago

It's probably not a coincidence that there were ping pong tables in the Computer Center and Engineering Center buildings of our University; lots of people played (I never got into it, though; kinda hard to play when you have tunnel vision).

wallflower 18y ago

My advice for those who want to be get better is to invest in a good paddle. For example, the Butterfly brand, $35+. And forget hard rubber "paddles", without the right rubber, you will never be able to spin the ball effectively.

jamesjyu 18y ago
There's a whole style of play called hard bat that people use, in which they only use hard rubber (or pips out). The fact that they cannot spin effectively can be an advantage -- they aren't affected by their opponents spin! Given the right technique, they can be deadly, since basically, any spin that you give to the ball is reversed when it comes back (very low friction on their paddle, so essentially their hit does NOT change the direction of the spin. So, for example, if you give them topspin, it will come back at you with underspin).
- pixcavator 18y ago
  >if you give them topspin, it will come back at you with underspin You are describing the effect of "long pips".
  - jamesjyu 18y ago
    True, I stand corrected.
pixcavator 18y ago
Or try the newly invented "pistol-grip" http://tabletennisonly.com/images/SW_Pistol_Grip_Blade_All_Wood_small.jpg http://tabletennisonly.com/images/SW_Pistol_Grip_Blade_All_W.... Very ergonomic in my experience.

mattmaroon 18y ago

Hell yeah. One of the first things we did in Cali was get a ping pong table. It was a great breaktime activity.