Can you solve a Rubik's Cube?

Can you solve a Rubik's Cube?

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    106
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Dacvak said:
You're gonna get sub-1 before you know it! Especially when that new cube arrives ;)
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Dude, I can't wait. My current cube catches on turns if the pieces aren't perfectly aligned. When I fight to correct it I forget what I was doing and I have to start over. So annoying lol.
 
I've been trying for decades...since about 1980 :messenger_tears_of_joy:
but I refuse to just learn the algorithms, I want to figure it out...so far that plan is failing...maybe I'll go the other route
 
I used to be one of those "special" autists as a child that could look at every side and sort of know how to solve it before starting.

Now as a 44 year old who has destroyed his fair share of grey matter with alcohol amongst other things I can still complete them but it takes me forever... Guess I'm just "special" now 😂
 
Can I? Yes?

Can I in a timely manner? Oh hell no

Think of it like one of those infinite monkeys writing Shakespeare scenarios
 
Pretty easy once you learn the main few algorithms, they just become muscle memory like anything and no longer exist as a set of steps. Got down to around 1m 15s, I've forgotten twice after a long gap of not doing it, but a quick brush up and it all just comes back. I really should push myself and expand beyond the basic algos though.

I learned on a standard official cube but then I got a proper cube with all the adjustable gears and magnets; and it was night and day, so slick:

GAN 356 X Numerical IPG 3X3 Stickerless Magnetic Speed Cube (V1)

640acacdc5983648c82b51c7-gan-356-x-speed-cube-3x3-stickerless.jpg


The official cube is absolutely hideous, they're so stiff, grindy and awkward.

One weird thing I notice after spending more than 10 mins or so with it, is everything I touch afterwards feels rounder... :messenger_grinning_smiling:
 
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SminkyPinky said:
I've been trying for decades...since about 1980 :messenger_tears_of_joy:
but I refuse to just learn the algorithms, I want to figure it out...so far that plan is failing...maybe I'll go the other route
Click to expand...
I mean, no one (aside from savants) is solving these without learning the algorithms.

When I was in high school, before I even knew there were people who did speed cubing, I managed to figure out how to solve the first two layers (well, kinda) by myself. Later on I learned that the way I was solving it was basically the standard starting algorithms everyone learns.

It's ridiculously satisfying to solve no matter how you do it. And once you've got the bug, you realize the skill ceiling is infinitely high. So you can always chase improvement.

Man, this thread really reinvigorated my love of Rubik's cubes. Kacho Kacho 💙
 
I forced myself to solve one legitimately (no help, no knowledge of how to do it) over 15 years ago and have not felt compelled to do it ever again. I did it while working some crap retail job over the course of a shift.
 
Dacvak said:
I mean, no one (aside from savants) is solving these without learning the algorithms. I managed to figure out how to solve the first two layers (well, kinda) by myself. Later on I learned that the way I was solving it was basically the standard starting algorithms everyone learns.
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Yeah, apparently Reddit is full of those savants lol.

Starting with the white cross or daisy is fairly well-known and pretty easy to stumble across since you're only moving 4 pieces, plus you don't have to worry about disturbing completed sections. The middle corners are obviously much more tricky no matter which method you use. The final row is basically impossible to 99.99999999999% of people. You need a Chinese math whiz to figure that thing out.
 
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Kacho said:
Yeah, apparently Reddit is full of those savants lol.

Starting with the white cross or daisy is fairly well-known and pretty easy to stumble across since you're only moving 4 pieces, plus you don't have to worry about disturbing completed sections. The middle corners are obviously much more tricky no matter which method you use. The final row is basically impossible to 99.99999999999% of people. You need a Chinese math whiz to figure that thing out.
Click to expand...
Final side is why I never want to solve one again. Last four corners took me hours to work out.

It's probably super simple when you know what to do, not a ton of fun when you have bad spatial awareness and need to memorize every turn you make in order to backtrack and avoid undoing prior work.
 
Kacho said:
Yeah, apparently Reddit is full of those savants lol.

Starting with the white cross or daisy is fairly well-known and pretty easy to stumble across since you're only moving 4 pieces, plus you don't have to worry about disturbing completed sections. The middle corners are obviously much more tricky no matter which method you use. The final row is basically impossible to 99.99999999999% of people. You need a Chinese math whiz to figure that thing out.
Click to expand...
It's actually really easy if you understand commutators and conjugates. Looks like big words, but the concept is simple. It was the mathematicians who published many of the first solutions and they used those two techniques to solve the cube on their own.

Below is a page on commutators. There is also the method named 8355, which is a beginner method without a lot of memorized algorithms.


 
Kacho said:
The final row is basically impossible to 99.99999999999% of people. You need a Chinese math whiz to figure that thing out.
Click to expand...
Hahah, yeah I'm on of that percentage I think - I can get two layers done pretty quickly (but it's still the infinite monkey thing). I take it on holiday every year...and get mighty frustrated with it
 



I remember as a kid playing with a cube. This would be the equivalent of a fidget spinner for me. I don't remember ever coming close.
 
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Yeah, when i was a young un i would take it apart and put it back together the right way, if you mean doing it properly, not a chance.
 
Got my GAN cube today and damn son. This is mufuckin Cadillac of Rubiks Cubes. My other cube is already warping from all the use. Hope this holds up better.
 
Kacho said:
Yeah, apparently Reddit is full of those savants lol.

Starting with the white cross or daisy is fairly well-known and pretty easy to stumble across since you're only moving 4 pieces, plus you don't have to worry about disturbing completed sections. The middle corners are obviously much more tricky no matter which method you use. The final row is basically impossible to 99.99999999999% of people. You need a Chinese math whiz to figure that thing out.
Click to expand...
Reddit is Autism Heaven.
 
I remember in primary school a friend of mine got one and brought a magasine with the "solution". Basically you just add to repeat a certain sequence till you see a certain pattern in the color. Then switch to the next sequence of move till the next pattern etc....
I was so disappointed that something, as child, was for me something near impossible and needed a "superior" intelligence to solve could be done just by following some simple guidelines.

It removed any interested I could have in it xD Since then it never appealed me again.
 
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Ok, so I took Dacvak Dacvak 's advice and learned f2l. At first I have having trouble wrapping my head around it, but with repetition I've learned what to look out for so I can position pieces more efficiently for quicker solves. I still have problems where I second guess myself, and I still get lost and confused at times. But I'm seeing a noticeable improvement. Very satisfying.

Doing this made me realize that f2l is the second part of a speedsolving method called CFOP. The first part where you solve the white cross upside down is a bit of a mindfuck because I'm used to doing the other way. I'm getting better at it though.

I looked up a guide on OLL and PLL. They're talking about 28,128 solving methods or some shit (I'm exaggerating but still... lol)

Edit: if the yellow pieces are here do these 28 moves
Thinking Think GIF by Rodney Dangerfield
 
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I learned how to in 2023 to make elf on the shelf more magical. It's not hard when you get the pattern down.

I solved it every night up until Christmas Day.
 
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Kacho Kacho I've been meaning to take a picture of this for you. This is the "impossible" cube that has lenticular stickers that change color based on your angle. (And the angles of each side aren't uniform, so there's no easy way to cheese it.)

rLn0FqR.jpeg
CkMYCRP.jpeg


That's the yellow side
 
Dacvak said:
Kacho Kacho I've been meaning to take a picture of this for you. This is the "impossible" cube that has lenticular stickers that change color based on your angle. (And the angles of each side aren't uniform, so there's no easy way to cheese it.)

rLn0FqR.jpeg
CkMYCRP.jpeg


That's the yellow side
Click to expand...
I'm colorblind so this would be impossible for me lol
 
I got a new GAN 365 mag the other day, and it's lighter than my old GAN. But it's sooooo smooth.
 
4 years ago I learnt to solve 3x3, 4x4, 5x5 and 6x6 and was able to do them easily (not record time and all but consistently solve them with all parity situations). I then stopped for about 3 years and forgot all algorithms so starting again now and again able to solve 3x3 in about a minute.
 
You turn a side 45 degrees, use your thumbs to push up on the corner piece until it pops out, it's easy to slide the rest of the pieces out after that reassemble and snap the last piece in a a tiny bit of force.
While your in you can use vaseline to lube up the inside ball.
 
Just got a speed cube. YouTube decided to pump the videos too me and I was compliant. I'm trying to raw dog the first one and not use any type of guide or even philosophy, but the plan is to get into the guides and stuff and try to get down to a single digit minutes time.
 
Like, readily? Or on a biological level? Because like....yeah, I've got hands and a brain, I can do it. But if you handed me one, like...no.
 
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