Juggling is the act of iteratively catching and throwing several objects. To a mathematician a juggling pattern can be described using a mathematical notation called siteswap. The idea of siteswap notation is to keep track of the order in which the objects are thrown. The notation does not indicate what kind of objects are being juggled (e.g. balls, rings, clubs, etc) or whether a special kind of throw is performed (e.g. under-the-leg or behind-the-back).

Want to know more? Let Data Scientist and Oxford Mathematician Ross Atkins explain all in the latest in our Oxford Mathematics Alphabet series.

 

Please contact us with feedback and comments about this page. Created on 18 May 2017 - 10:12.