A short presentation on Juggling at Freenome. Part of the Lighting Talks series

1. Juggling
Eduardo (Pelegri-Llopart)
5 Feb 2021
Lighting Talks at Freenome

2. Definition
The manipulation of objects for
recreation, entertainment, art or sport.
Entertain with jesting, tricks, etc.

3. Basic Demo
● 3-ball cascade
● 3-ball shower
● 1 hand column
● And Many More..
Disclaimer - I’m NOT a good juggler!

4. (Manipulation of) Objects
Basic Props
● Ball, Club/Pin, FlowerSticks, Devilsticks, Rings, Torches, Knives, Axes ...
● Diabolos, Cigar Boxes, Scarves, Beanbag, Hats, Rubber Chickens, Bowling Balls ...
Actions
● Throws, Catches, Passes, Bounces, Contact juggling, ...
Accessories
● Balancing boards, Tight ropes, Big Ball, Mirrors, Blindfolds ...
People
● 1, 2, 3, … 1+N

5. Physics
● Gravity
○ Height ~ Time
● Mass
○ Center of gravity
● Angular Momentum - Gyroscopic Effect
○ Pins, Diabolos, Spinning Plates, Rings
● Size
○ Collisions
● Anatomy Variations and Constraints
○ Behind-the-back, under the leg
○ Size of prop and hand...

6. Math
● Juggling and Math (and Computer Science)
○ (UC) Berkeley, Stanford, Xerox, Sun, etc…
○ Topology, Number Theory, String Theory...
● People
○ Claude Shannon (information theory)
○ Elwyn Berlekamp (game theory), Ronald Graham (discrete math), many more..
● Notation - Siteswap
○ 3 - 3 ball cascade. 5 - 5 ball cascade. 4 (same as 44) - 4 ball columns
○ 5 (same as 555) - 753 - 933
○ (2x, 4x) - 3 ball shower. (2x, 6x) - 4 ball shower
○ Some theorems → New discovered patterns
● Computer Programs
○ Siteswap simulator

7. Brain
● Shannon’s Formula: (F+D)/N=(V+D)/H
○ Flight time + Dwell time / N the number of balls
○ Vacant time + Dwell time / H the number of hands
● Very small error range in throw
○ Speed & Angle (F)
● Very fast response
○ Short Catch & Rethrow (D)
● Brain needs to adjust very quickly…
neuron paths, preplans?
BUT
● EVERYBODY can juggle 3 balls
○ Some will learn in 10 minutes, some in 3 weeks
○ Learn the Basics, Practice… and eventually your brain will
“get it”

8. Social
● Passes, Takeaways….
● Many Patterns
● Symmetric and Asymmetric
Some nice videos
● Socially Distanced Social Juggling
● Martin Frost’s Snowflake (SU)
Barry Bakalor and Alan Greenspan passing 8 clubs at a meeting of the San
Jose Juggling Society, 1982

9. Records
Numbers Game…
Some from Anthony Gatto
● 7 clubs for 4’24” - YouTube
● 9 balls 55” - YouTube
● 7 balls, 11Min - YouTube (at his driveway)
● Juggling World Records

10. BUT...
● EVERYBODY can juggle 3 balls
● Juggling is FUN!
● … and I Can Help You!
○ I’ve taught young kids, and non-young ones too.

11. (Added) Intro Resources
● Intro books
○ The Juggling Book by Carlo (Used :) - Amazon & Alibris)
○ Juggling.org and Juggling.org/books
○ Wikipedia
○ Juggle.org (IJA) - Howto
○ YouTube Channels
■ Errr… too many? Many are good.
● Niels Duinker & Taylor Tries - Slow mo is great :)
● What to get…
○ I like using a local vendor - Renegade Juggling in Santa Cruz.
○ Bean Balls & MMX Balls. Beware of your hand size.
○ Or… just grab a tennis ball, cut it, add beans to it (for weight), and glue it back (eg THIS)