PLAYING some sports is all about trigonometry. A cricket or baseball fielder only needs to follow a couple of simple mathematical rules to be in the right place to make a catch, according to Peter McLeod and colleagues at the University of Oxford and the University of Sussex, UK.
The rules are based on the angles created by the ball as a catcher visually tracks it in flight. The trick is to ensure that, in relation to where you are on the pitch, the vertical angle of the ball increases at an ever slower rate while the horizontal angle increases steadily.
The researchers created computer simulations of fielders using these principles (Nature, vol 426, p 244). Their movements matched those of real sportspeople almost perfectly. 鈥淵ou are running an algorithm which is continually telling you what to do next,鈥� McLeod says. 鈥淚f you keep on doing this you end up in the right place.鈥�
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