the know-it-all plays tennis

and this is from the "M" section for motion.  jacobs is playing tennis, which reminds me i've always wondered if it enhances or distracts from life to understand why something happens the way it does.  (for example, i can enjoy the sunset without knowing all of the rules of atmospheric light or ride my bike blissfully ignorant of most all physics terms).  he writes, "...i am feeling more confident than usual.  i've come up with a bold new strategy.  i've been brushing up on the physics i learned in the britannica, visualizing the mechanics of flying spheres, and i've semi-convinced myself that this will make me a better player.  i will see the court in angles and forces and arrows.  i will be master of the natural laws of tennis.  i will turn knowledge into power, specifically a powerful forehand.  as we warm up, i tell myself to be aware of the magnus effect.  the magnus effect is what causes tennis balls with topspin to dive downward.  it's actually a special case of bernoulli's theorem which we can thank for keeping airplanes aloft, and has to do with a greater pressure on top of the ball than under it.  every time the ball comes to me, i watch that yellow fuzzy projectile spin, understand what's going on, and thwack it back.  i am doing it!  the master of the natural laws of tennis is in the house!  i am playing as well as--if not better than--my impeccably dressed brother-in-law.  i keep focusing on my beloved magnus effect.  but i'm not forgetting about the parabola of teh lob, discovered by galileo himself.  i'm not even forgetting about how gravity is weaker toward the equator, so the south side of the court should have a little more bounce.  okay, well, i'm trying to forget that one, because that's probably not going to help me.  and i'm trying not to get caught up in the coriolis effect either, which says that a projectile moving north will drift to the east because of the earth's rotation.  that won't likely have a huge effect on my ground strokes.  but still, the master of the natural laws of tennis is thwacking back forehands and backhands, visualizing the projectiles in all their newtonian splendor...we have had our moment of glory among the yellow spheres."