I was recently in Boston at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, and with the long-awaited warm weather, all the street entertainers were in full force. Singers, musicians, and a variety of juggling acts filled the street, with crowds surrounding them. One act in particular struck a chord with me – the classic spinning plates. We’ve all seen it at various times in our lives. The entertainer started spinning plates, balanced precariously on top of wooden sticks. More and more plates started spinning with the entertainer frantically running back and forth as one started to slow down, almost fall, but, just in time, was able to get it spinning and balanced again. Then the entertainer reached his limit: he add one more plate and as he tried to keep them all up, one lone plate, down on the end started to wobble, the stick tilting, and before the entertainer could reach it, the plate went crashing to the ground, taking several of the other plates with it.