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Study Notes

Circus Skill Manipulating Objects:

Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport.
The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling, while some jugglers use dramatic objects such as knives, fire torches or chainsaws.
Juggling can also commonly refer to other prop-based manipulation skills, such as diabolo, plate spinning, devil sticks, poi, cigar boxes, contact juggling, hooping, yo-yo, and hat manipulation.
The term juggling and juggler derive from the Middle English jogelen ("to entertain by performing tricks"), which in turn is from the Old French jangler.
Ancient Egyptians, Nabataeans, Chinese, Indians, Greeks, Romans, Norse, Aztec (Mexico), and Polynesian civilizations practiced juggling.
In the 19th century, variety, and music hall theatres became more popular and jugglers were in demand to fill time between music acts, performing in front of the curtain while sets were changed.
The International Jugglers' Association, founded in 1947, began as an association for professional vaudeville jugglers, but restrictions for membership were eventually changed.
World Juggling Day was created as an annual day of recognition for the hobby, with the intent to teach people how to juggle, promote juggling and get jugglers together and celebrate.
Most cities and large towns now have juggling clubs, and there are community circus groups that teach young people and put on shows.
Juggling conventions or festivals form the backbone of the juggling scene.
Circus, variety theatres, casinos, festivals and fairs, historically themed events, and street performances are some of the venues where juggling acts can be seen.
Mathematics has been used to understand juggling as juggling has been used to test mathematics.
Juggling improves cerebral connectivity performance, according to an Oxford University study.Juggling Notation and Patterns
Claude Shannon developed a juggling theorem that relates the time balls spend in the air and in the hands.
Juggling tricks and patterns can be complex, and notation systems have been developed for specifying patterns and discovering new ones.
Diagram-based notations are the clearest way to show juggling patterns on paper, but their use is limited in text-based communication.
Ladder diagrams track the path of all the props through time, while causal diagrams only track the props that are in the air.
Numeric notation systems, such as Siteswap, are more popular and standardized than diagram-based notations.
Siteswap is the most common juggling notation and assigns a relative number to various heights of throw, taking specific "beats" of time to complete.
From those relative numbers, a pattern is conveyed as a sequence of numbers.
There are notating conventions for synchronous siteswap, where both hands throw at the same time, and multiplex siteswap, for patterns where one hand holds or throws two or more balls on the same beat.
Other extensions to siteswap have been developed, including passing siteswap, Multi-Hand Notation (MHN), and General Siteswap (GS).
Numeric notation systems are used extensively in both a written form and in normal conversations among jugglers.
Juggling notation and patterns can be used to communicate complex juggling tricks and patterns, as well as to discover new ones.

Description

How much do you know about the world of juggling and circus skills? Test your knowledge with our quiz on manipulating objects, from juggling to diabolo, plate spinning, devil sticks, poi, cigar boxes, contact juggling, hooping, yo-yo, and hat manipulation. Discover the history of juggling, its notation and patterns, and its impact on mathematics. Are you ready to become a master of circus knowledge? Take the quiz now!