The Archer's Paradox and Modelling, A Review

Bob Kooi, History of Technology, 1998, 20:125-137

One of the most fascinating phenomena in archery is found in the ‘Archer’s Paradox’. It would seem that the arrow should fly far left of its target, since it passes on the left side of the bow (in the case of a right-handed bowmen), in the time the string (and therefore the rear-end of the arrow) moves in the median plane of the bow from full draw to the braced position. The ‘Archer’s Paradox’ consists in the fact that the arrow does fly to its mark instead of along a line represented by its axis in braced position