1. Observing The Unfamiliar-The Tool
English 2 (ENGL 0205)
Assignment 1
Vicky Lee Wei Kee (0313317)
FNBE JULY 2013 - ENGL 0205 English 2

2. Wilson Basketball
I began searching high and low, looking for something interesting and challenging
for my English observation assignment. At first I thought I would pick on an unusual
daily object to make my assignment more interesting. I was getting frustrated as 10
minutes or so passed by and yet I could not decide on an object. As I was about to give
up searching for one, reconsidering, I opted for the most everyday sports tool, a
basketball.
Next to my cupboard underneath a wooden chair, laid my basketball. Picking it up
from the ground, I felt its cold, rubber or leather-like surface. It actually felt hard and
dense in my hands. As I felt it in my hands, the coldness disappeared bit by bit.
Applying physics concepts, I think it might be the transfer of heat from the warmth of my
hands to the ball in order to achieve thermal equilibrium. And so, I began my
observations using vision. I looked at it at all angles and found it perfect round. Then, I
noticed that when I looked at it in the direction of light source, the basketball was bright
orange brown. Before that I used to assume it orange. Similarly, when I observed it in
the opposite direction of light source, it was rather dark and brownish.
One of the obvious features of this basketball was its letterings with 1mm thick
gold-lined borders. The top of one side labeled “Wilson”, the brand of the basketball and
right at its bottom labeled “PERFORMANCE COVER” without gold-lined borders.
Dipped down almost towards the center were the letters “NCAA”, in which its size was
FNBE JULY 2013 - ENGL 0205 English 2

3. as big as its brand. I wonder what “NCAA” stands for, so I Google it, and it answered
National Collegiate Athletic Association. Below “NCAA” letterings were “HOME
COURT”, labeled small and black. As I turned my basketball over, seeing the underside
was its bar code in black and white. Dipped down 4 inch were four rows of numbers and
letterings: labeled WTB40650, INFLATE 7 TO 9 LBS and JES48. The number ‘7’ might
be indicating the size of the ball, which is 7’ inch ball and I was not sure about the
meaning of the rest. Not to forget the letterings “MADE IN CHINA” labeled at the last
row. Then, dipped down 1cm of these words and numbers was a black tiny hole where
you inflate the ball with air.
After a general observation of the physical outlook of the basketball, I began to
explore its texture. As I ran my fingers along the basketball, it felt rough, but not as
rough as sandpaper. There are many uncountable protruding circles, which made up
the whole of the basketball surface. These protruding circles were all very close, leaving
little space from one another, forming the rough surface for easy grip on it. Holding the
basketball up close to my face, I noticed that these circles were slightly darker in color in
such a way that they touched the ground more often and thus dirtier.
Turning my attention to other senses now, I held the basketball next to my ear
and tapped at it, listening. I could actually hear the reflection of the sound in the inner
walls of the basketball. The sound was not hollow but rather loud and clear. Then I tried
flickering it at another end, and I noticed that the pitch and clarity of the sound reflected
increased. However when I knocked on it using my knuckles, the sound was rather dull
and dense. As I was getting bored with this assignment, I decided to take a short break
FNBE JULY 2013 - ENGL 0205 English 2

4. and began playing the basketball. I bounced it on the tile floorings in my room. The loud
and clear reflected sound of the bouncing ball echoed in the room and I pictured that the
residents living one level down the apartment getting irritated if I do not stop dribbling it.
Then when I bounced the ball on the carpet placed outside the toilet, the sound became
hollow and dull as the carpet absorbed much of the sound.
After having much fun and entertainment playing with my basketball, I decided to
continue my investigation. I began examining the object with greater precision and
concentration. I tried putting it near to my nose and sniffed it. It has combination of
smells of leather, plastic and rubber, all in one. It was hard to pinpoint any one smell
that stood cut above the rest. Finally I closed my eyes, hoping to hone in on anything I
might missed out with my eyes opened. Using the tip of my fingers, I tried to grip the ball
tighter, applying force on it. It was really hard to totally compress it with my small hands;
bringing to mind how the tiny air particles inside the ball colliding the inner walls,
maintaining its shape. Using the sense of touch, I could feel the black lines slightly
dented as compared to the orange part of the ball.
My mind went numb again until I recalled one of the important criteria to be
explored, which was the weight of the basketball. At first lifting the ball with folded arms
seemed effortless to me. But when I lifted it with my hands straightened, I could feel my
biceps contracting in order to hold its weight, keeping it still and balance in the air. After
20 seconds or so, my hand began to get shaky and sore, and I could no longer hold the
ball in a steady position. Finally, I caught it with the help of my left hand when the ball
FNBE JULY 2013 - ENGL 0205 English 2

5. almost fell. I noticed that when I held it with both hands, the ball seemed to weight much
lesser compared to when I was holding it with single hand.
The fifteen-minute examination time was finally over and I was relieved as I was
about to go out of boredom. When I was about to place it back to its original position,
immediately a rush of images flooded my head. I noticed that the intersection of the
cross and two curved lines resembled the basketball court lines. The two curved lines
reminded me of the three-point lines while the line which separated the curved lines
resembled the midcourt line.
Throughout this assignment, I find myself easily got distracted from my task and
boredom often strikes me. But as soon as I acknowledged it, I tried to draw myself to
stay focus back to the task of observation. I have learnt that there are many details that
I might missed out if I used only vision to discover the identity of an object. By
combining all the senses in exploring an object, there was a lot more in an object that I
could have overlooked.
FNBE JULY 2013 - ENGL 0205 English 2