Okay, so let’s say you’re going to hold a juggling contest. In this contest, each entrant grabs three weighted balls out of a pile. All of the balls weigh the same. For the sake of this problem, let’s say all of the balls weigh 5 pounds. The contest is this: Someone blows a whistle and then all of the contestants have to start juggling (each juggling three balls), and all juggling them the same, normal way (known as the basic “cascade” juggle). This is a *duration* contest, so the last one juggling wins. The question is: Assuming all of the entrants can juggle and are of similar physical strength… IS THERE A STRATEGY FOR WINNING? Here’s what I mean by that…

Since you only have two hands, juggling three balls (by definition) means that there will always be (at least) one ball in the air at all times. If you’re holding all three, you’re not juggling. So, the balls have to be in motion; that’s unavoidable. No matter what you do, you’re keeping 15 pounds of weight in play the whole time. However, jugglers *will* notice that there is in fact one thing that they can control in this scenario — the speed of their juggling. This presents some interesting observations because speed is relative to the height at which the balls are tossed. For example, consider two distinct juggling styles:

1. A tight, fast juggle. In this scenario, a juggler is juggling faster than the other jugglers. He or she is not tossing the balls as high, which would seem to save a little bit of energy in the long run because you’re not fighting gravity so much. However, you’re also sacrificing “rest” time between throws. So, you’re moving a lot faster — executing more throws — eating up precious energy in that manner.

2. A slow, taller juggle. In this scenario, you’re executing fewer throws, which would seem to save energy. However, the throws require more force, as you have to fight gravity on the way up, and then absorb more force when the balls come back down.

I’ll admit that, from one perspective, the challenge seems like there is no strategy that could be advantageous — in that it all boils down to a contest of who can keep 15 pounds of weight in motion the longest. However, I’m wondering if, from a scientific viewpoint, there might be an advantage gained by purposely juggling in one of the two ways described above.

Okay, that’s the gist of what I’m thinking about right now. Any input is appreciated!  Comment here, or beam me an opinion at Rawdiant [at] gmail.com.

-Jim