Definition of juggling

There is no single definition of juggling that everyone agrees on. Different jugglers have different ideas of what exactly juggling is and how it should be defined, and may disagree on whether a given activity is "juggling" or not.
"Juggling" was originally a very general term for any kind of entertainment, and its meaning has gotten more specific over time.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823182157/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=14 #269https://web.archive.org/web/20180823190418/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=18 #349 The meaning changed to focus on activities involving skilled object manipulation, then to exclude entertainment involving illusions, and now the term is often used to mean only a specific type of object manipulation that can be loosely described as "throwing and catching more objects than hands used".
The word "juggling" is currently used in multiple different senses,https://web.archive.org/web/20180823182303/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=11 #219https://web.archive.org/web/20180823193348/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407 #19https://web.archive.org/web/20180823190418/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=18 #346 and has been for over a hundred years.https://books.google.com/books?id=TE1JAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=%22three%20great%20branches%22&f=false There are two main things, more or less, that a juggler might use that word to mean:
* A certain general category of activities (also called object manipulation)
* A certain more specific type of activity within that category (also called toss juggling)
(The terms "object manipulation" and "toss juggling" are also somewhat ambiguous, so using those terms doesn't completely eliminate the ambiguity.)
Disagreements on the meaning of "juggling" can be either about how exactly one of these two senses of the word should best be defined, or about which of those two concepts the word should be used to mean. (Though since definitions of the broader meaning and definitions of the narrower meaning of the word aren't actually even trying to describe the same thing, there really shouldn't be any conflict between the broad definitions and the narrow definitions.)
The word also has figurative meanings that have little to do with actual skilled object manipulation, such as multi-tasking, fumbling, and deception.
== Types of definitions ==
* A descriptive definition is meant to report how people use a term. If a descriptive definition of a term disagrees with how people actually use the term, the definition is wrong. Descriptive definitions can be useful because they tell you what usage of a term people are most likely to understand without you having to explain what you mean by that term.
* A prescriptive definition is meant to tell people how they should use a term. In a prescriptivist view, if a definition of a term disagrees with how people actually use the term, those people are wrong. Prescriptive definitions can be useful for helping people understand each other by making sure everyone is using a term to mean the same thing.
*A stipulative definition is a prescriptive definition that is only meant to apply in the context of a specific discussion, and doesn't necessarily say anything about how a term is used or should be used in general.
A description of how you feel about juggling is not a definition.https://www.facebook.com/instantjuggler/posts/10153954058940563?comment_id=10153966632030563
==Suggested definitions==
Below is a collection of various definitions of juggling that people have proposed, and the problems people have found with those definitions.
===Broader definitions=== 
:Object manipulation.
Objections:
*This definition includes activities that some jugglers don't consider to be real juggling, such as contact juggling, plate spinning, and poi.
*This definition would also include many everyday activities that happen to involve manipulating objects, which most people would not call juggling.http://web.archive.org/web/20120516220549/http://www.jugglingdb.com/faq/index.php?question=1
*Some jugglers use the term "manipulation" in a more specific way, so that not all juggling is manipulation.http://www.ministryofmanipulation.com/articles/what-is-manipulation/
* If you use "juggling" to refer to a broad set of activities, what do you call the more specific activity that is also called "juggling"? You could call it "toss juggling", but that term is often used in contrast to bounce juggling, which should be included in the specific activity. The term "toss juggling" also doesn't clearly exclude tossing one ball with two hands, which should not be included in the specific activity. So "toss juggling" is not the same thing as the narrower sense of the word "juggling", and is not a suitable synonym.
*Not everyone wants to be labeled as jugglers. Some forms of object manipulation already have an existing community of practitioners who themselves didn't originally label their activity as juggling. These people may prefer to keep their activity categorized separately, and may not appreciate it being lumped in with juggling, for various reasons.https://www.facebook.com/chris.jost.3/posts/pfbid0b1rg7yqe9doPLQuCXJXFmcgcSKSPJCJyZB68B3a6zNivQVPScgRwjAwJFnSat5vTl?comment_id=663456812239823https://www.facebook.com/chris.jost.3/posts/pfbid029VCCZpaTQRYxZCn9M1nLNUyEtxBhSkkCUZW5CLNKXJTGf662qUJRYU7F4JhKmKCl?comment_id=362979249835682 They may prefer not to be associated with all the cultural connotations of juggling. They may find the implication insulting that their activity can only be valuable if it's part of juggling. If there is disagreement on whether an activity is juggling or not, that activity likely lacks some quality that jugglers tend to consider important to juggling. So categorizing that activity as juggling will probably lead to it being seen as an inferior form of juggling, while people probably wouldn't even think to make that comparison if it was considered something distinct from juggling. Trying to fit an existing subculture into the juggling subculture could also lead to that first subculture changing in undesirable ways. Categorizing an activity as juggling might make people feel pressured to modify their art form to be closer to the central form of juggling, so that jugglers will care about it, instead of continuing to explore the unique aspects of their art form that aren't common in juggling.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmOZILY9U94
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:The art of moving objects, such as balls, clubs, beanbags, rings, etc. in an artful or artistic manner. —Wiktionaryhttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/juggling
Objections:
*If "artful" here means "done with skill", this definition would include any activity that happens to involve moving things and require skill.
*If "artful" here doesn't mean "done with skill", this definition would exclude juggling that isn't done artistically.
====Purpose==== 
*The manipulation of one or more objects with the objective of the manipulation itself, rather than to produce another effect.https://www.facebook.com/instantjuggler/posts/10153661758795563?comment_id=10153662048480563&reply_comment_id=10153663587675563https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/rec.juggling/E2o2eriLbsM/nUQk36YG86UJ
*Object manipulation done for the enjoyment of either manipulator or watchers, without any other purpose.https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/rec.juggling/ZznCVxAxZyk/Fk8dxhskJSIJ
*To manipulate something for the primary purpose of visual effect. —Jack Boycehttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.juggling/CL8POeTB3_o/lZUekXafGccJ 
*Skilled manipulation of objects in an attempt to show off.https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.juggling/-PM7mJ_5yWE/fP8jujN2DH4J
Objections: 
*There are plenty of other reasons people might juggle: to improve their skills, to get exercise, to make money, as part of a game or competition...https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.juggling/CL8POeTB3_o/q_JEuJCV1L4Jhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/JugglingRock/permalink/1621291721273710/?comment_id=1622082644527951&reply_comment_id=1623151867754362
*Do juggling machines have their own intentions?
*Juggling alone isn't juggling according to some of these definitions.https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.juggling/-PM7mJ_5yWE/COAMqzg3LgIJ
*It's conceivable that someone could juggle without meaning to juggle.https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.juggling/CL8POeTB3_o/kGp_M68bRKEJ
*According to the visual effect definition, painting pictures would be juggling.https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/rec.juggling/CL8POeTB3_o/TRvRU6QZ3UgJ
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:Doing that which doesn't need to be done in the most difficult way possible.
Objections:
*This definition includes activities that no one would consider to be juggling, such as "running the London Marathon dragging a millstone by a rope around your neck".
*This definition seems to exclude juggling that is not particularly difficult, such as a basic 3 ball cascade.
* There is always a more difficult way that it's (at least theoretically) possible to do a juggling trick.
*If you do need to juggle for any reason, it is no longer considered juggling by this definition.
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: Anything that is intended to be juggling, or perceived as juggling. —Matan Presberghttps://www.facebook.com/groups/1509074102659838/posts/3454129861487576/?comment_id=3454209694812926&reply_comment_id=3454285541472008
Objections:
*This is a circular definition. If you don't already know what the word "juggling" means, this definition doesn't tell you anything, making it useless as a definition.
*People do already have an idea of what the word means, but what people think it means is almost always going to be something else, not the way it's defined here. So most people are going to interpret this definition based on the assumption that the word has a particular other meaning. Assuming that this definition is not meant to depend on a different definition of juggling, this means people will not be understanding this definition correctly. (And if this definition is meant to depend on a different definition of juggling, it should specify which one.)
*People make mistakes. What people intend or perceive things to be doesn't always match reality.
====Risk====
*If you release objects when you could just be holding them, then you are juggling. Instead of safely holding objects with constant control, you are choosing to control them intermittently and risk dropping or failure. —Jack Kalvanhttps://web.archive.org/web/20180823194630/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=15 #295
*Choosing to use an unstable method of controlling objects when a stable one (such as just holding them) would suffice. —Jack Kalvan (a more inclusive definition)
*Succeeding in executing an originally risky object manipulation. —Daniel Simuhttp://juggling-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-is-juggling.html
*Any activity that, like toss juggling or balancing a pole, is associated by popular culture with precarious control of objects, requiring skill, concentration, and continuous effort to avoid dropping or other similar sudden failure. —Arthur Lewbelhttps://www.facebook.com/arthur.lewbel/posts/10156175366321414
Objections:
*Is risk really what defines juggling? Other activities like running or driving involve a risk of failure,https://www.facebook.com/groups/JugglingRock/permalink/1244241002312119/?comment_id=1245023528900533&reply_comment_id=1245102678892618https://www.facebook.com/arthur.lewbel/posts/10156175366321414?comment_id=10156180912451414&reply_comment_id=10156181704186414 and may even require constant attention and effort to avoid a sudden failure,https://www.facebook.com/groups/JugglingRock/permalink/1621291721273710/?comment_id=1622082644527951&reply_comment_id=1622145221188360 but those activities aren't defined by that risk.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823185954/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=17 #328
*The possible failure of dropping an object is mentioned in some of these definitions, but is not unique to juggling. The possible failure of catching an object in an already occupied hand, or running out of objects heading toward occupied hands, is unique to juggling, but is not mentioned in these definitions.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823185243/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=16 #303https://web.archive.org/web/20180823185954/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=17 #340
*Depending on what kind of objects you're using, it's possible that holding an object could be more "risky" than not holding it, or it might not be possible to control the objects in a "stable" way.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823194630/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=15 #297
====Related activities====
This is a descriptive definition of jugglinghttps://www.facebook.com/instantjuggler/posts/10153954058940563 in the broader sense of the word. It is meant to report how the term is generally used (using juggling literature, experts, and iconic examples as sources), regardless of whether some individuals (including the writer of the definition) personally disagree with that usage.https://web.archive.org/web/20171106223827/http://www.objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=2 #22 It is meant to be a description of juggling that can work for everyone. It is meant to describe the fact that people disagree on which activities are juggling without participating in the disagreement.
:Juggling is a genre of related activities. The word "juggling" can represent either the genre or an activity of that genre. The activities are usually skill-based demonstrations of object manipulation, but it is not these characteristics that are conclusive in whether something is juggling or not. Historically, juggling in its default form is throwing and catching using the hands in repetitive cycles, with at least one object more than the amount of hands. This pattern has become known as the cascade.
:The nature of juggling is similar to the nature of a melody. Both are defined by the composition between their components, and not by the components themselves. A melody is not a single note; juggling is not a single throw. With this understanding, we can resist falling into the trap of seeing components of juggling as juggling. A tire of a car is not a car; it's a tire. The same goes for juggling. A throw is not juggling; it's a throw. A throw can be juggling if it's combined with something, or in some other way placed into the context of the default form. The most common example of this is when several objects are thrown continuously in a juggling pattern, such as a three ball cascade. Then the combination of components and the specific way they are combined make them belong into the category of juggling. A throw of one object without other objects or additional throws could be juggling if it is part of a certain context, such as a juggling performance.
:The crucial aspect of the context is that it is in a relevant relation to the default form. All activities that belong in juggling are related to the default form in some way. That is their common link. Juggling is the default form, plus everything that is put into the context of the default form by, among other things, mimicking, referencing, expanding on, being influenced by, or in some other way relating, concretely or abstractly, to the default form. If that context is removed, so is the connection to juggling. —Erik Åberghttps://youtu.be/ZyMZkqZFEZ4
Notes: 
*It is commonly known that the ability to juggle is achieved by practice. If the juggler is using secrets, such as gimmicks or hidden apparatus, the juggling is not considered to be authentic. It may still exist within the genre of juggling, but will be pushed to the periphery, or over the edge into the genre of magic.
*If there is another genre that has a stronger connection to the subject than juggling, the subject will be placed in that genre, and not in juggling. If a subject has a strong enough cultural identity of its own, it can be independent, and will not be referred to as juggling.
The short version (which requires the background knowledge of the full definition to really understand)https://www.facebook.com/instantjuggler/posts/10153954058940563?comment_id=10153954112880563&reply_comment_id=10153954118230563 is:
:Juggling is a genre of activities which are related to the default form. The default form of juggling is the 3 ball cascade.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823193348/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407 #14
Objections: 
*This definition doesn't clearly specify how activities need to be related. Anything could be considered to be distantly related to the three ball cascade in some way.
**So this definition may not be very useful for distinguishing between what is or is not juggling, but that's not the purpose of this definition. This definition is meant to describe how the word "juggling" is in fact currently used. If people use the word vaguely and can't agree on what it means, a vague definition can be an accurate description of that situation.
*If you asked someone if they could juggle and they couldn't do a 3 ball cascade, they would probably say no, even if they could do other things included in this genre.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823193348/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407 #20
*Why can't an activity be part of both the genre of juggling and another genre?https://www.facebook.com/arthur.lewbel/posts/10156175366321414?comment_id=10156179702971414&reply_comment_id=10156179956476414https://web.archive.org/web/20180823185954/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=17 #332https://web.archive.org/web/20170814024447/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/18?page=2 #30
====What jugglers do====
:Juggling is what jugglers do and non-jugglers don't do. —Andrew Conwayhttps://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/rec.juggling/E2o2eriLbsM/yl-ceRY6uygJ
Objections:
*This is a circular definition; you can't make sense of it unless you already know what "juggling" or "juggler" means.
*There are activities that only jugglers tend to do, but that are not actually juggling, such as making juggling videos or having discussions on juggling forums.
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:"Juggling" is the intersection of the set of object manipulation requiring a lot of practice, and the set of things happening in jugglers' acts. —Andrew Conway
Objections:https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.juggling/E2o2eriLbsM/LlK1SkHsEcgJ
*Some juggling acts can include other skills that involve manipulating objects and require a lot of practice, but aren't generally thought of as juggling. Do those skills become juggling just because jugglers use them in their acts?
*Does a skill not become "juggling" until a juggler does it in a performance? If a skill that could have been part of a juggling act is never actually used in a performance, does that make it not juggling?
*Some basic juggling skills don't require much practice, at least for some people.http://www.juggling.org/help/essays/gatto.html Does that mean those skills aren't actually juggling?
*This definition uses the word "jugglers" to define juggling, so it's a circular definition unless you also specify a definition of "juggler" that doesn't rely on the word "juggle" or "juggling".https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.juggling/E2o2eriLbsM/R0HezjqMsp8J
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:Juggling is defined as the skilled manipulation of objects that is commonly performed by or associated with jugglers (but not including objects on which the juggler balances). —David Cainhttps://www.juggle.org/the-seven-types-of-juggling-skills/
Objections:
*This is another circular definition, using the word "jugglers" in the definition without explaining what that means. "Jugglers" would presumably be defined in terms of "juggling".
*If a juggler invents a new form of juggling that no one else does yet, that form of object manipulation is not commonly performed by or associated with jugglers, which makes it not juggling by this definition.
*It is possible to juggle objects while balancing on them.
*The reason given for making an exception for manipulating objects on which the juggler balances is that "we don’t consider those skills juggling, as they can be performed on their own completely apart from juggling. We might consider them ancillary (or juggling-adjacent) skills, but not juggling." This is a circular argument, that assumes we already know what juggling is, so that we can tell which activities are being "performed on their own completely apart from juggling". Someone with a narrower idea of what juggling is could make the exact same argument for excluding a lot of the activities that this definition is designed to include.
==== Some of these characteristics====
:An activity is juggling if it has most of the following characteristics:
* Manipulating inanimate objects
*Objects break contact with the hands
*Movement on the scale of arms and hands; not using e.g. the whole body or just the fingers to manipulate objects
*More than one object per hand/manipulator
*Non-trivial difficulty; requires practice 
*Not based on deception/illusion
* Uses equipment made specifically for juggling
*Done for the enjoyment of the practitioner or an audience
*Not done just to accomplish an external practical goal
*Not part of a competition
*Done by people who self-identify as jugglers
(Paraphrased from Luke Burrage)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ_rqkr5H68
Objection: Competition is common in the juggling community. When juggling is done in endurance contests, combat tournaments, IJA and WJF championships, etc., does that make it less likely to be considered juggling?
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:An activity is juggling if it has any of the following characteristics: 
*Repeated connected throws and catches of the same object by the same person
*Using non-grasping body parts to continuously control an object so as not to let it fall
*Manipulating an object disconnected from the juggler via a stick or other rigid implement held by the juggler
(A narrower definition, paraphrased from Luke Burrage)https://youtu.be/zZ_rqkr5H68?t=439
Objections:
*A qualifying run of a shared cascade wouldn't meet the requirement that one person throw the same object more than once.
*Are you juggling if you just passively hold a small object on your open palm?
*Are you juggling when you use utensils to eat?
===Narrower definitions===
: Juggling is the rhythmic displacement of objects in a way that allows to do something else during that displacement ongoing. This is achieved by aiming the object, thus controlling where it will land, with no need to track it. The skill of juggling lies in using that time for doing more displacements of the same kind or something completely different in a rhythm. This in turn ("using that time") is achieved by synchronizing the body's movements with the pattern (or "trajectories") juggled (and vice versa, by adapting, tuning, synchronizing the pattern to fit optimal body motion). —7b_wizardhttps://www.jugglingedge.com/forum.php?ThreadID=3067#Small22999
Objections: 
*Juggling isn't necessarily rhythmic. You can juggle with no consistent rhythm, and it's still juggling. Maybe that word should be replaced with "repeated" or "recurring".https://www.jugglingedge.com/forum.php?ThreadID=3067#Small23026
*There are juggling activities that don't involve precise aiming and do require tracking the objects.
*Optimal body motion probably shouldn't be included in the definition, since jugglers rarely, if ever, use truly optimal body motion (and it doesn't seem to be a vital part of the definition).
*Does it count if you displace objects onto the floor and then pick them back up when you need them? Or do they have to be displaced in a way that creates some kind of urgency to displace another object afterward?
*It's not clear whether it matters which hand is doing something during the displacement. Does this definition include 600?
====More props than hands====
:Juggling is manipulating more objects than the number of hands you're using.
Objections: 
* Should it be considered juggling if the objects are manipulated in such a way that there is no risk of dropping, and no need to hurry to make the next throw?
*A 1 or 2 object trick done with two hands would not be juggling by this definition, but an identical trick (or even a simpler trick)https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.juggling/ZznCVxAxZyk/xvXPAf7-wPoJ done using something other than the hands (such as the feet) would be considered juggling.
*Is [[Stack|[33][33]0]] juggling any more than 330 is? There don't just need to be more objects than hands; there needs to always be an incoming object that forces you to make another throw before you catch it.
*This definition excludes 6011, a variation of 2 in one hand that seems like a continuous juggling pattern.
**On the other hand, the state of the pattern in between 1s is the same as the state halfway through 611112, which is more clearly not real juggling in the narrower sense of the word, any more than 4112.
*This definition excludes many activities that some jugglers consider to be forms of juggling, such as contact juggling, plate spinning, and poi. 
*If you use "juggling" to refer to this specific activity, what do you call the broader set of activities that is also commonly called "juggling"? "Object manipulation" is a popular alternative term for the more general category of activities, though that term may be over-inclusive and awkward.
*The use of narrow definitions of juggling like this has sometimes been described as "exclusionary".
**But any meaningful and useful definition of a word is always going to exclude some things,https://www.facebook.com/groups/JugglingHome/posts/3190980337793227/?comment_id=3191061311118463&reply_comment_id=3196483890576205 so if there's something wrong with certain activities not being included under the label "juggling", there needs to be a better explanation of what the problem is than just that it's "exclusionary". (Even if you just use a word and don't try to define it, you are still using it to mean something,https://www.jugglingedge.com/forum.php?ThreadID=3067#Small22805https://www.jugglingedge.com/forum.php?ThreadID=3067#Small23005 which means you must be excluding everything else from what you mean when you say that word.)
*The use of narrow definitions of juggling like this has sometimes been described as "gatekeeping",https://www.facebook.com/groups/JugglingHome/permalink/3190980337793227/?comment_id=3191061311118463https://www.facebook.com/groups/JugglingHome/posts/3571987426359181/?comment_id=3572659906291933https://www.facebook.com/groups/JugglingHome/posts/3812717318952856?comment_id=3812902418934346&reply_comment_id=3812918618932726https://www.facebook.com/chris.jost.3/posts/pfbid0ap4G8MsSB2t6NLnjfiqFGJmtZbW9wFuGGbioSPNqoCKquaMB8K1P78pNyhbH75Ggl?comment_id=9558070207552522&reply_comment_id=944007973675996 apparently in the sense of deciding who does or does not get access or rights to a community or identity, or limiting other people's participation in a collective identity or activity.
**It doesn't actually fit those (or any other) definitions of gatekeeping, though. Not calling a particular activity juggling doesn't stop anyone from being part of the juggling community. It doesn't stop people who happen to like to do something that isn't juggling from also doing things that are juggling. It doesn't stop jugglers from also doing things that aren't juggling.https://www.facebook.com/groups/JugglingHome/posts/3571987426359181/?comment_id=3572659906291933&reply_comment_id=3573015102923080https://www.facebook.com/chris.jost.3/posts/pfbid0ap4G8MsSB2t6NLnjfiqFGJmtZbW9wFuGGbioSPNqoCKquaMB8K1P78pNyhbH75Ggl?comment_id=9558070207552522&reply_comment_id=912134799797820 It doesn't say anything about the value of the activity.https://www.facebook.com/chris.jost.3/posts/pfbid0ap4G8MsSB2t6NLnjfiqFGJmtZbW9wFuGGbioSPNqoCKquaMB8K1P78pNyhbH75Ggl?comment_id=9558070207552522&reply_comment_id=1384129892326162 And no one is forcing people to only use the word "juggling" in the narrow sense.
*Defining things by their components can result in overly broad definitions that wrongly include anything that happens to have the same component.https://www.facebook.com/instantjuggler/posts/10153954058940563?comment_id=10153960949780563
**But that won't happen if the definition includes a sufficient combination of components.
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:JUGGLING IS: Independently controlling the continuous non-grasped motion and position of more independent foreign objects than hands used to actively grasp said objects, where said motion occurs either in contact with the controller's body, or out of contact with the controller's body and either in a fluid or in a vacuum or on a non-level surface or with trajectory change exerted by a force or object other than the controller. —Will Braswellhttps://www.facebook.com/arthur.lewbel/posts/10156175366321414?comment_id=10156181949721414
Objections: 
*How is holding an apple on your open palm not juggling by this definition? You're controlling 1 object with 0 grasping hands, the same as if you were balancing a broom on your open palm, which this definition includes as juggling.https://www.facebook.com/instantjuggler/posts/10153954058940563?comment_id=10153964058345563&reply_comment_id=10153964065880563
*Is it not juggling when you roll 3 objects on a level surface, catching them before they get too far away, so that there is no need for them to change direction?https://www.facebook.com/arthur.lewbel/posts/10156175366321414?comment_id=10156181950821414&reply_comment_id=10156182107161414 Would it be juggling if the level surface you were using was part of your body?
====Exchanging problems====
*The process of solving a problem by creating another problem over and over again. ie; one ball in each hand, a third coming down towards one of those hands. We solve the problem by throwing a ball and emptying the hand. But don't get too excited as we also created another problem. —Dave Thompsonhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/JugglingRock/permalink/1244241002312119/?comment_id=1244431718959714
*Juggling is a method of controlling the motion of a number of objects in a manner where the control of one object must be released to attend to another. (A descriptive definition of jugglinghttps://web.archive.org/web/20171106223827/http://www.objectepisodes.com:80/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=2 #38, 40 in the narrower sense of the word, from Jack Kalvan)https://web.archive.org/web/20171106223827/http://www.objectepisodes.com:80/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=2 #34
*Being forced to release control of one task in order to control another task, that in turn will force the first task to be controlled again, in a repeating sequence. —Erik Åberghttps://web.archive.org/web/20180823184517/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=8 #153
*A series of tasks that attention can be shifted between. As attention shifts from one task to another, each switch triggers a new approaching switch opportunity. Utilizing these switch opportunities in an unbroken recycle, is the juggling phenomenon. The definition of the specific activity of juggling, would then be the juggling phenomenon, where the task is throwing and catching objects using the hands. —Erik Åberghttps://web.archive.org/web/20180823185954/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=17 #326
Objections: 
*This concept of being forced to release one thing to attend to another only makes sense if you are working under the rule that you can only have one object in a hand at a time, so this definition doesn't work for multiplex juggling.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823185124/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=13 #248https://web.archive.org/web/20180823185243/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=16 #318https://web.archive.org/web/20180823185954/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=17 #323 What you have to avoid in order to keep juggling continuously is running out of switch opportunities; avoiding catching two balls in one hand is a more strict rule that only exists in the more specific activity of non-multiplex juggling.
*The creation of a new problem or switch opportunity and the elimination of an old one don't always happen at the same time.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823185954/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=17 #340 In 51, a problem is resolved by throwing a 1, and a new problem is created at a different time by throwing a 5. The 5 could be thought of as a part of the solution since it makes the next 1 possible.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823182303/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=11 #214 But that doesn't work for 9300; in that pattern all the new problems are created by throwing completely optional 9s, which are not being forced to happen by any incoming objects, and are not needed to make the 3s possible.
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The following definition (which builds on a series of stipulative definitions) is meant to be compatible with multiplex juggling, and to distinguish which multiplex patterns are real juggling in the narrower sense of the word.
:A manipulator is something (such as a hand) that you can move at any time, and can be used to move other things.
:Something is being held if it can immediately be moved at any time by a manipulator. 
:Something is dropped if it is not being held, and either it has stopped moving relative to you and won't start again until it's moved by a manipulator, or it has gone out of reach of the manipulators and won't come back in reach on its own.
:Something is in the air if it is not currently held or dropped, and it has a limited amount of time before it will change back to being either held or dropped.
:To throw is to change something from being held to being in the air.
: To catch is to change something from being in the air to being held.
:A prop is something that can be thrown and caught.
: A prop is on a certain manipulator's side if it is being held by that manipulator, or if it's in the air and that manipulator will be the next to catch it.
: Two props are converging if they are both being held by the same manipulator at the same time, or will be before the next time either of them is thrown. 
:A queue is a pair of props that are on the same side and are not converging. 
:An exchange is the act of creating a new queue that involves a prop in common with another queue that still exists just before the new queue is created.
:Juggling is continuously maintaining the existence of at least one queue by doing exchanges. —Alex Lubker
Note: Jugglers usually work with additional rules that are not mentioned in this definition, such as only holding one prop at a time with each manipulator, or never letting props hit the floor, or not letting a prop return to you and then go away again without catching it. But if you're not following those additional rules, that doesn't necessarily mean you're not juggling at all, it just means you're not doing a certain more specific type of juggling (such as non-multiplex juggling).
Objection: This definition excludes some low diabolo patterns, even though it includes the high versions. 
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:Any activity where objects are sometimes released from direct control; gravity either causes out-of-reach objects to return to where they can be caught, or can prevent them from doing so; and when an object is caught it either flows smoothly into another release of the same object, or forces another object to be released first so this one can be caught. (A descriptive definition, paraphrased from Luke Burrage)https://web.archive.org/web/20180823185124/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=13 #249
Objections:
*There are activities where something other than gravity causes out-of-reach objects to return, or can prevent them from doing so, or can otherwise end the object manipulation attempt.Roll juggling#Surface rollinghttps://youtu.be/K4qNDKgTnDwhttps://web.archive.org/web/20180823194630/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=15 #293 Are those activities not juggling?
*This definition is designed to include activities that non-jugglers tend to call "juggling" if they don't know what else to call them.https://web.archive.org/web/20180823182157/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=14 #265 But does it really matter what people call things when they don’t know what they’re called? Should the ignorant use of a word be what determines how we define it?https://web.archive.org/web/20180823194630/http://objectepisodes.com/t/the-definition-of-juggling/407?page=15 #300
====Keeping something in the air====
*The continuous throwing and catching of objects such that at least one object is in the air at any moment in time. —Steve Bennetthttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.juggling/ZznCVxAxZyk/Ln-UIsYk0EcJ
*Juggle: Continuously toss into the air and catch (a number of objects) so as to keep at least one in the air while handling the others. —OxfordDictionaries.comhttps://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/juggle
*Juggle: To keep (several objects, as balls, plates, tenpins, or knives) in continuous motion in the air simultaneously by tossing and catching. —Dictionary.comhttp://www.dictionary.com/browse/juggle
Objections:
*Is the siteswap 600 juggling any more than 42022 is? When you're juggling, you're not just trying to keep something in the air at all times; you also have to try to avoid having too many objects held in one hand at a time.
*Juggling can be done by rolling objects so they're not actually "in the air".
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: The manipulation of N+1 objects, during which, there is no point where all of the N+1 objects are being fully controlled in such a way that at least 1 of the objects is not in danger of being "dropped" unless a movement is made to "catch" said object. In other words, a period of time manipulating N+1 objects, during which at least 1 object is always in some form of "falling". —Richard Kohuthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ_rqkr5H68&lc=Ugz8V5WNUM8qt2i9Skh4AaABAg (linked comment)
Objection: If 600 isn't considered juggling, shouldn't things like [62]22 and [66]00 also be excluded?
====Qualifying====
The word "juggling" is sometimes used to mean something even more specific:
:A juggle occurs for a given number of objects in an explicitly stated pattern when the number of catches made is at least twice the number of objects being juggled... A juggle may also be referred to as a 'qualifying run'. —JIS Committee on Numbers Jugglinghttp://www.juggling.org/records/rules.html
Objections: 
* If doing a 9 ball cascade for 17 catches isn't juggling, what is it?https://web.archive.org/web/20160822074853/http://objectepisodes.com/t/juggling-terminology-that-annoys-you/169 #1, #8
*Using this terminology, 17 catches of 9 balls isn't called "juggling", despite being both more objects and more catches than a run of 16 catches of 8 balls, which is called "juggling".https://www.facebook.com/arthur.lewbel/posts/10160254604506414?comment_id=10160255694461414
*The concept of a qualifying run was originally invented as part of the rules of one specific competition, and was never intended to be a standard to determine whether what someone did was really juggling or not. But some people use the word "juggling" that way anyway.
==References==
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