Most common misconceptions among the layfolk?

[Brent Cox]

Hi all,

I've got an "informative" speech that I have to give next week
(~24th of July) in my speech class, and I'm going to do it on
juggling. (What other worthy topic is there?!?)

One of the topics I'd like to include is a "Common misconceptions
about jugglers/juggling." I know I'm going to mention the famous
"impossible-but-gee-all-the-cartoon-characters-do-it-this-way-
'cause-it's-the-easiest-pattern pattern," and probably the "Oh,
juggling N objects is nice; can you do N+1?" as well, but does
anyone out there have any other favorite common misunderstandings
you've come across?

If I use your suggestion, I will give credit where credit is due
in my list of sources. :-)

--

Brent A. Cox
Texas A&M University
b...@tamu.edu

[Richard Horne]

Brent Cox <b...@tamu.edu> wrote:

<Does anyone out there have any other favorite common misunderstandings
>you've come across?

Hi Brent.

I've been involved in the Juggling industry for over six years now and I conduct
training seminars for some of the big industrial companies (both in the UK and here in
New Zealand). Over the years I've picked up an awful lot of misconceptions about
learning to juggle. I usually start my sessions by asking which members of the group
will be unable to learn to juggle. Usually I get about 25-30% of people responding to
that. Then I ask these people WHY they think they won't be able to learn.

The following excuses are the most popular......

"I can't catch"
"I can't Throw"
"I can't see" (only once for this one, though)
"I have no co-ordination"
"It's too difficult"
"I never use my left hand"

The most popular misconception in juggling is that you need a huge amount of
co-ordination to juggle 3 balls, yet most adults can drive a car! If you put some
thought into the action of driving a car, it looks like THIS:

"When you drive a car, you're operating five separate pieces of machinery (brake,
clutch, accelarator, steering wheel and gear shift) all at the same time. On top of
all that, you also manage to wind down the window, tune in the radio, change the CD,
shout at the dog in the back seat and pick your nose. And while you're doing all that
you're looking out of the window at a selection of guided missiles over which you have
NO control, and you manage to not hit any of them (hopefully)."

Well, if THAT isn't a high level of co-ordination, then I'm the Pope.

And finally, one of the other misconceptions about 3 ball juggling is that there are 3
balls in the air at the same time. The human brain has been taught since early
schooling to analyse and break down anything it doesn't understand into little bits
and then put it back together slowly, instead of looking at the whole thing. Thus,
the human brain sees 3 ball juggling like this......:

"OK. If you're juggling 3 balls, then that means there are 3 throws. And you also
have to catch them, so that means 3 catches. That's 6 actions so far. Then of course
you're using 2 hands, so that must mean it's 2 x 6 actions, which equals 12 things
that you have to do to juggle 3 balls. ALL AT ONCE. AT THE SAME TIME. So on
reflection there must be a top secret order in which you do these 12 actions, and this
secret can only be learned from a circus or a world class performer. So I'll never
learn to juggle!"

Pathetic really.

In essence, 3 ball juggling is a misnomer as there is really only 1 ball in the air at
any one time.

Sorry to go on, Brent, but I've taught thousands of sceptical adults over the years,
and I haven't had a failure yet. I've even managed to teach a blind woman in England.
It was difficult, but she had the desire to succeed, and that really is the secret to
learning juggling, or anything else for that matter.

Good luck with your assignment.

RICHARD HORNE - More Balls Than Most NZ
Director

[ejb...@teleport.com]

Brent Cox <b...@tamu.edu> wrote:
>I've got an "informative" speech that I have to give next week
>(~24th of July) in my speech class, and I'm going to do it on

>juggling. . .

>One of the topics I'd like to include is a "Common misconceptions
>about jugglers/juggling."

Try these:

1. Most jugglers are not performers, they are hobbyists; just as most
hikers will never tackle Mt. Everst, and most joggers will never qualify
for the Olympics.

2. Juggling is an activity that can be incorporated into a performance,
just as leaping and running about can be incorporated into a dance, but
juggling is not necessarily or automatically `entertainment' for anyone
other than the juggler.

3. Juggling does not require exceptional coordination, though someone with
exceptional coordination is more likely to become an exceptional juggler
than someone with poor coordination. The most important element is the
desire to learn: jugglers can be found among people in wheelchairs, those
with one arm, and among people with spastic conditions.

4. Juggling and magic both have to do with seemingly impossible feats.
The difference is that in juggling the `trick' is overt (not hidden),
while in magic it is covert (hidden). In juggling the trick and the
effect are the same. In magic the effect and the trick are separated:
the effect is what you see and the trick is what you don't see.

Have fun.

=Eric

I know I'm going to mention the famous
>"impossible-but-gee-all-the-cartoon-characters-do-it-this-way-
>'cause-it's-the-easiest-pattern pattern," and probably the "Oh,
>juggling N objects is nice; can you do N+1?" as well, but does

>anyone out there have any other favorite common misunderstandings
>you've come across?
>

[Richard Hasty]

Richard Horne wrote:

> Sorry to go on, Brent, but I've taught thousands of sceptical adults over the years,
> and I haven't had a failure yet. I've even managed to teach a blind woman in England.
> It was difficult, but she had the desire to succeed, and that really is the secret to
> learning juggling, or anything else for that matter.
>
> Good luck with your assignment.
>
> RICHARD HORNE - More Balls Than Most NZ
> Director

I would be quite interested in learning how you taught the blind woman
to juggle. How did she get feedback to correct her throws, even
learning to toss just one ball between hands?

Richard Hasty
Physicist in training.
Juggler on sunny afternoons.

[Robert M. Dye]

Brent Cox <b...@tamu.edu> wrote:
>I've got an "informative" speech that I have to give next week
>(~24th of July) in my speech class, and I'm going to do it on
>juggling. . .
>One of the topics I'd like to include is a "Common misconceptions
>about jugglers/juggling."

One of the most (in)famous ones is when you are
juggling...lets just say 'n' balls. A COMMON misperception
is that it is appropriate to look bored and say "Can you do
n+1?"

Grrr.

[Bradford J. Linder]

>anyone out there have any other favorite common misunderstandings
>you've come across?

how many times have the rest of you found yourselves saying these things?
"no, I'm not a clown"
"no, I don't do magic tricks"
"no, I don't do chainsaws" (after having just begun with three ball cascade)
and overall, it would just be nice to find a non - juggler who can tell
the difference between a cascade and a reverse cascade, let alone a mill's
mess and a burke's barrage...
just to agree with the comment that not all jugglers are performers, if
someone did the best three ball routine in the world, it wouldn't be as
impressive to the common person as a basic three torch pattern, or,
depending on the individual, a basic three club pattern!
--Bunkie--