Among the teams vying for the American and National Football Conference Championships next week, you won’t find the name of the Minnesota Vikings. That’s because the Vikes’ placekicker Blair Walsh missed a crucial field goal – in part because the football wasn’t lined up properly – against the Seattle Seahawks, who know a thing or two about how the ball bounces. (Last year’s Super Bowl. Marshawn Lynch on the one-yard line. Russell Wilson is told not to hand him the ball. New England Patriots win. Just saying.)

In the Vikings-Hawks game, Walsh kicked the ball – something he’s done successfully probably 98 or 99 percent of the time. Although instead of it veering one way, it went the other.

The Magnus effect: You expect the ball to curve one way, but it heads in another direction. It’s a common phenomenon in ball sports like football and tennis and a common metaphor as well. ...