Bowling Philosophy-January 2012

"804...Determinism or Free Will?"
By Thomas Scherrer

There is a firm belief that when a bowler shoots an Honor Score (299, 300, 800, etc.), they had a break or two that helped enable them to achieve that mark.  Usually, 300's do consist of a break or two in the course of twelve shots, but most people agree shooting an 800 series is today's high achievement in the world of bowling.  Aside from good shot-making, an 800 consists of being matched up with the right ball, right speed, right angle of attack, and of course, right alcoholic beverage.  Ok, I made up one of those parts...you don't always need the right ball in today's league game, but still. 

Shooting an 800 series is, by all accounts, bowling's great work of art in a night.  But I am not here to discuss art, I am here to bring forth a philosophical question that arises to bowling 800 or better: did I shoot 800 or did the circumstances around me determine that I shot 800?  The concept of free will or determinism: what allows a bowler to shoot 800?

Before I continue, most thinkers always ask those questions, mostly regarding why a human being lifts and finger to their face to scratch their nose.  Obviously, the brain senses an itch, and sends a response to the person to scratch it. The finger then tells the brain to lift said finger towards said itch and scratch it, but who is leading whom?  People have had some alternate theories:  first off, parallelism states that both mind and body act on their own, without any interaction.  A second theory is epiphenomenalism, in which it only goes one way-brain to mind and not mind to brain.  The rather illogical yet Tim Tebow'ed form of occasionalism also takes place on each occasion, a mind of immaterial nature wills movement of the body (and to think, I was the last writer in America not to discuss Tim Tebow until today...gosh darn it!), where the gods intervene to make a miracle happen.  No...it is either your will (of choice) or determinism (a set of factors leading to the outcome).

Let's review: in the first week of the 2012 calendar bowling year, I shot 804 in the Thursday Knights league.  A beautiful symmetry to artwork along with shooting an 800 is that there is no constant watching or observing like there is with a 300, the finished product takes 3 games, 30 frames, and about 2 1/2-3 hours.  If we are to describe it artfully, shooting 300 is a graffiti sketch (almost impulsive, at points, reckless, but ultimately matter) while shooting 800 is a Mona Lisa (prolonged, detailed, long-term vision, and of course, significant).  But I digress...what were the factors that helped me shoot 800?  Physically, I didn't feel any better or worse than I had at all this season.  If anything, I threw a few shots that I felt were questionable but raced back to strike and some perfect shots were taps, so theoretically, the law of averages, so to speak, were balanced out.  I did not have a 300 game (my teammate, Jim Lovewell did in the 3rd game and got a nice round of applause for his performance, while my double in the 10th to shoot 800 was met with little noise), but did not shoot lower than 258 in any game I bowled.  I did not change anything in terms of diet, sleep, work effort, or anything else intangible.  I just put on my shoes, took out my bowling balls, practiced, then executed my way to shooting 804.

If only it appeared to be that simple...

Here are some other factors: I bowled with two other left handers that night in Ermie Malagrida and Ross Beaudette.  Both Ross and Ernie play further left than I do, utilizing the dry boards on the gutter.  I start out most of my nights right on the track area on the left side, which at Auburn Lanes is just outside the 2nd arrow (8-9 board), and usually work my in off that to get a blend of the dry boards and the track area as the night progresses.  That is generally the case, no matter how many lefties are on the lane just as a matter of preference.  However, two things changed in my method last week.  First, I started 2-3 boards right of where I normally start, which places my ball path in the "overwalled" portion of the lane; the part where there is sooooo much oil that it makes me take a ball with a duller coverstock to allow the ball to roll in the oil.  It was a far more riskier move in that an early miss right would either create a) overreaction making the ball go high or b) a dead fish entering the pocket leaving weak corner pins.  With that comes the second part: the bowling ball.  I went to my Columbia 300 Momentum Swing, finished at 2000 Abralon with a clean 'n dull touch to it before league began.  There was a feeling of logic thinking that if I could play further inside of the other two lefties with a duller ball, it would simply erase their hold and their pulls would go face or split.  I swear, I was actually trying to make sure both lefties did not get off and strike like crazy that night.  Tangibly speaking, it hurt them and what they did helped me with shinier bowling balls (carrying oil down outside of the lane, providing an extra amount of hold for me outside and perhaps, keeping my ball from losing energy on misses wide).  So yes, I made two choices that I would not normally make on league night, but I was also being helped by the other two lefties to allow everything to come into place.  Was it exploitation?  Was is talent?  Or was it determined to happen instead of willed?  

When you factor everything in like bowling Pla-Doh, an 804 happened to me last Thursday night.  This is the philosophy of the mind at its highest language and ethos.  If my brain operated in deterministic ways because of every variable surrounding me, was there any free will in my decision making?  If I chose to freely pick the Momentum Swing over the Pure Swing or Perfect Rival, then were there other factors allowing this to happen?  Ultimately, if this was all determined, then is there any space for free will, and in turn, personal responsibility?  Does that make shooting 804 any less special?  Does it take away from what a special moment for myself?  It is all hard to say and hard to explain at the same time.  I just know that for the first time since my Junior year of college, I shot 800 for a 3 game series in bowling.  And I have more questions to answer as to how I can do it again.




For those with a love and knowledge for the Sport of bowling, this IS Bowling Philosophy.  Namaste.