Can there be a mathematical definition of excitement? Within the realm of sports at least (particularly tennis) an attempt has been made to find out. Dr Graham Pollard BSc, MSC, PhD of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Canberra, Australia, has written, in the Journal of Sports Analytics, regarding ‘Measuring excitement in sport’.
“The mathematical definition of excitement [see full paper link below] is applicable to a wide range of sports scoring systems. Several examples were given, but a major focus of this paper was on a set of tennis. A methodology for determining the average value and variance of the total excitement in the set was outlined. It is reasonably straight forward to use this methodology to determine whether a particular set had a total excitement level that was above or below its expected level, and by how much.”
It should be noted that the excitement measuring method is not restricted to tennis –
“The method for analyzing excitement […] can be used directly for a wide range of scoring systems as used in racquet sports such as table tennis, squash, and badminton, and other sports such as volleyball.”
For details , see the Journal of Sports Analytics, 3, (2017) 37–43, where the thesis, and the definition can be read in full. ‘Measuring excitement in sport’.