Mathematical Digest
Short Summaries of Articles about Mathematics
in the Popular Press
"Jugglers Now Juggle Numbers to Compute New Tricks for Ancient Art," by Bill
Donahue. Science Times, New York Times, April 16, 1996.
This article discusses "site swaps," a system of codifying the juggler's art
sothat the tosses and catches can be represented by strings of numbers. The
ideaof site swaps was invented in 1985 by Bruce Tiemann, a doctoral student in
chemistry; two other jugglers independently came up with almost the same idea.
A paper in the Mathematical Monthly by mathematician Joe Buhler of Reed
Collegeand two colleagues shows how the system of site swaps can be used to
generate an infinite number of juggling patterns. Computer visualization
programs have been developed that show small figures carrying out various
juggling patterns based on site swaps. The article also describes the reaction
of professional jugglers to the theory of site swaps and its usefulness in
juggling performances.
-Allyn Jackson
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