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buybuydandavis comments on Try more things. - Less Wrong
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I learned to juggle from a gift from a friend - a book and a bag of juggling cubes. I was amazed at how easy it was to learn, and the experience is a touchstone of my life. There was something I couldn't do at all, then with a little effort, I could. In keeping with your theme of trying new things, learning to juggle is a great object lesson in the ability to make changes in one's life.
http://www.amazon.com/Juggling-for-the-Complete-Klutz%C2%AE/dp/B000XQCQ2Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1389493320&sr=8-3&keywords=learn+to+juggle
I'd like to second this exact book. A substantial number of circus skill hobbyists I've met over the years owe their entry to the hobby to a chance encounter with this book, as did I.
Curious - how useful is a book in learning to juggle? I had been assuming that juggling was 99% a motor skill that you just had to practice and where a book wouldn't be of much benefit, but maybe I'm wrong about that?
I mostly agree, but there is a big exception: For beginners, it's very important to start with the right pattern.
The basic pattern is the cascade, but beginners often try to start with the shower pattern. The cascade pattern looks more complicated and less intuitive, but it's actually much easier to learn than the shower pattern.
It'd be interesting to document other physical acts where the intuitive motion is much harder than a less intuitive motion.
I think it helped because it walks you through learning the juggling process by breaking the process down one tiny motor skill at a time. You practice each skill separately, making them consistent and repeatable, then you build them up in series.
That's part of the object lesson: complex skills that seem hard can be broken down into component skills that are easy.
A book is probably not necessary. I learned to juggle just be trying to do it over the course of a few months at work when I had free moments chatting with co-workers. You fail every time in the beginning, but progress is rapid. You probably just need to watch a YouTube video if you've never thought about the actual mechanics of juggling before. I didn't even do that much, I literally just tried over an over again.
Thirdin this recommendation. Juggling is a fun self-practice activity that is a good party trick and can also turn into good social times.