The Nest

[Charles Collins]

Thanks. Keeping in mind that Brennan was a lot farther away and at a steeper angle.

The distance from Brennan’s position to the sniper’s window was about 120-feet, close to the distance from second base to home plate on a baseball diamond. Not too far for someone with good distance vision to identify someone. Ask someone who plays baseball if need be. And as far as the vertical angle goes, I have calculated it at approximately 26.98-degrees using a triangle calculator and the altitude differences and distances from Roberdeau’s map (accounting for Brennan’s elevated position on the top of the wall). I placed the target, and subsequently the camera, at that 26.98-degree angle using a laser level. If you look at the photo that you included in your first post, the target that has the blue masking tape holding it onto a 2X2, and is laying down backwards represents Brennan’s position (when the paper is standing upright, not laying down). All of that description is meant to indicate that the vertical angle (aka: steepness) is close to the correct angle. Is it exact? Probably not, but it should be close enough to give us a feel for the steepness.

[John Iacoletti]

One study by Loftus and Harley found that after 25 feet, face perception diminishes. At about 150 feet, accurate face identification for people with normal vision drops to zero. And these were recognizable celebrities.

http://faculty.washington.edu/gloftus/Downloads/LoftusHarleyDistance.pdf

Also somebody on home plate doesn’t have half his face and his chin obscured from the perspective of somebody at second base, nor are boxes or a wall partly in the way.

[Charles Collins]

One study by Loftus and Harley found that after 25 feet, face perception diminishes. At about 150 feet, accurate face identification for people with normal vision drops to zero. And these were recognizable celebrities.


http://faculty.washington.edu/gloftus/Downloads/LoftusHarleyDistance.pdf

Also somebody on home plate doesn’t have half his face and his chin obscured from the perspective of somebody at second base, nor are boxes or a wall partly in the way.

There are way too many variables involved to be able to judge from a study of that nature. Here’s a link to a study that I think is much better:



https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-014-0641-2

After only a quick scan of it, I won’t pretend to understand everything about that study. But if I do understand one thing correctly, the hits decreased by only .55% per yard of distance between the distances of 5-yards and 40-yards (aka: 120-feet). And the false alarms only increased by .44% for the same distances. That’s less than a 20% decrease in hits for the 35-yards between 5 and 40 yards.

Heck, I didn’t recognize my dentist when we saw him at a restaurant recently. And we were only about 20-feet away. My wife didn’t either until he recognized her. So distance isn’t the only factor. Some people recognize other people easier than others. My wife is usually very good at it. It’s mostly mental, I believe.

That said, I asked my nephew, who played a lot of baseball (first base) in his younger years about this subject. He said he would read the lips of the opposing team’s third base coach, from first base, and tell his team what he said. The distance from first base to third base is over 127-feet. He said that he would have no problem recognizing a face at home plate from second base. He said that he has always aced vision tests. Howard Brennan said he had excellent distance vision.

Edit: added image of graph from the report

[John Iacoletti]

Surely you realize that anecdotal self-reporting isn’t particularly reliable.

[Charles Collins]

Surely you realize that anecdotal self-reporting isn’t particularly reliable.

And surely you realize you don’t have anything to dispute it with.

[Charles Collins]

One study by Loftus and Harley found that after 25 feet, face perception diminishes. At about 150 feet, accurate face identification for people with normal vision drops to zero. And these were recognizable celebrities.

http://faculty.washington.edu/gloftus/Downloads/LoftusHarleyDistance.pdf

Also somebody on home plate doesn’t have half his face and his chin obscured from the perspective of somebody at second base, nor are boxes or a wall partly in the way.

Also somebody on home plate doesn’t have half his face and his chin obscured from the perspective of somebody at second base, nor are boxes or a wall partly in the way.


The photo that I posted only shows me looking towards the target area. Brennan said he observed him for several minutes. It is reasonable to believe that he would have turned his head and looked towards the intersection of Main & Houston Streets in anticipation. Because, after all, this is where the motorcade would first appear in Dealey Plaza. And, if so, his full face would be in full view for Brennan to study.

[John Iacoletti]

And surely you realize you don’t have anything to dispute it with.

Don’t need to. Anybody can claim they can do anything.

[John Iacoletti]

The photo that I posted only shows me looking towards the target area. Brennan said he observed him for several minutes.

No, Brennan only saw the person with the rifle for a few seconds. The question is, did he know it was the same person he saw earlier without a rifle (based on what?) or did he just assume it?