Does anyone here know how to solve Rubik’s cube? If so, when and why did you learn it?
I’ve been trying all my life, on and off, not enough to succeed in anything more than one layer, but more than enough to feel i should have mastered it by now.
My 11yo son, on the other hand, taught himself through a book and some YouTube clips and he is now disappointed whenever he solves it in less than 30 seconds.
He’s the only one i know who can solve it (apart from his best friend, that is), and every time he does, i feel like I’m watching magic. Chaos chaos chaos chaos … oh it’s finished!
Should i be proud of him or worried by own cognitive abilities?
I was like you. Rubik’s looked like magic ever since I had one as a kid. So, as an adult, I hit Google, then I went to cubeskills.com, paid them $10, watched their videos and read their PDFs, and learned “the beginner method.”
It took me about a week (I have a family and a job, so).
I can solve now in under a minute most of the time, and that’s good enough for me.
So, “solving” a Rubik’s is just a matter of memorizing a set of algorithms (move patterns). That’s it.
Now, figuring out how to solve a Rubik’s cube from scratch, by determining what those move algorithms are through months of trial-and-error, that would be quite the feat! That’s what you attempted to do. I did not do that, nor did most people. We ain’t got the time or patience for that.
Anyway, if you haven’t already, get your kid a nice Gan cube (the one with magnets). Well worth the money. If he sticks with it, he might hit sub-15 or sub-10.
I seem to remember reading that the guy who invented the Rubik’s cube (Rubik?) thought for quite a while that it was impossible to solve until he uncovered the first algorithms for solving it by essentially just messing around.
Yes, just got a magnet one. He was over the moon. He is one of those kids who has a hard time with everything boring, like brushing his teeth or cleaning his room, but can lose himself for hours on end in the most impossible tasks when he has the drive. At the moment, his mania is the cube. So a magnet cube is indeed very much worth it.
FYI that sounds like ADHD to me. Not something to act on unless it becomes a problem, but I wish my parents would have recognized it when I was struggling.
Yes, we have a slight suspicion and are on the case. It’s challenging when you are very much not adhd, WHY CAN’T HE JUST DO THIS IT’S SO EASY, but my job is to understand and help, not force my way of thinking unto his. Thanks for corroborating my hunch, though.
I took the stickers off and put them back on in order when I was a kid lol
Get a 15 puzzle. Or try a digital version.
That was about my level of figuring out. One less dimension to worry about. Never could do the cube.
One such implementation is here: https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/js/fifteen.html
I learned how to solve them from a book when they first came out in the late 70s. I can still remember enough of the moves to get two layers, but not the third.
Took me a weekend watching youtube back in highschool. Its not SUPER hard to get it consistent. Look for the pattern, do the right moves.
To do it faster you need to learn even more patterns, which i have not learnt. Like my best time is 59 seconds. No idea how to do your sons 30 second time.
Check out Jperm on YouTube. He’s got a 10 minute video that I used to memorize the basic algorithm.
This is kinda off topic but I recently started lock picking. It’s fun and challenging, and it gives me something to fidget with. I feel like it’s less challenging than a Rubik’s cube, plus it can be useful if you lose a key. Lots of good how to videos on YouTube as well.
he is now disappointed whenever he solves it in less than 30 seconds.
Sounds like it’s time to upgrade him to a professor cube.
I learned how to solve a regular cube but it still takes me a long time. Using the cross method.
Regarding his disappointment, there are bigger and more complicated cubes. He can also be challenged to create patterns in the cube, like you mess up a cube and he has to match the randomness you created. That’s a fun way to keep practicing those cube skills without the monotony of solving the same puzzle over and over.
You can solve 2 layers with logic. The 3rd requires patterns. You can discover patterns on your own by doing repeated motions until the cube returns to its original state. I came across a pattern that swapped colors on one side. That got me all the way to everything but 2 corners that needed to be rotated. On my own, I never discovered the pattern that rotated corners.
Well, you are either not really interested in it or can’t focus for 30 minutes needed to understand how it’s done.
Tap for spoiler
Also you can be proud of your son and dumb at the same time. 🙃
Haha, are you a carpenter? Cause a nail might have been hit on the head :)
I remember trying to do it without tips when I used to do transcontinental flights. I got so close.
Later, I thought it would be a good fidget toy. So, I found a tutorial online and just memorized the steps. Meow I just do it whenever I feel anxious, especially in public.
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Speedcubing is a fun hobby. I don’t know anyone who has solved a cube fully without instructions.
When I learned that you could solve it using some standard moves the magic was completely gone.
