5 ms·

I never wanted to learn how to solve it, because finiding my way to solve it is the game. who's like me? I bought a rubik's cube when my son was born, because

by slim 4y ago

I never wanted to learn how to solve it, because finiding my way to solve it is the game. who's like me? I bought a rubik's cube when my son was born, because I wanted something to play that was not my phone while he was on my lap. 3 years later I'm able to complete one face in like 5 min consistently. still a long way to solve it, new techniques to discover and hours of play in sight. yay!

lupire 4y ago
It's a huge leap to get past the first layer. Your curt rate of progress suggests that your strategy will not solve the cube in your lifetime. And it's almost impossible to do it without taking notes on paper or computer. (If that were doable, their wouldn't be so many walkthroughs). Solving the cube is a hard applied group theory "homework" problem. This video explains the principles of solving a Rubik's cube on your own. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-NL76uQOpI0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-NL76uQOpI0
SAI_Peregrinus 4y ago
The [Heise method](https://www.ryanheise.com/cube/heise_method.html https://www.ryanheise.com/cube/heise_method.html) is essentially that, but formalized. No algorithms to memorize, just understanding how the cube works and using that to solve it.
robot_no_421 4y ago
It's still fun once you learn how to solve it. But fun in a different way. You're treating it as a puzzle to solve. But once you learn how to solve it, it ceases to be a puzzle and it becomes a really fun fidget toy. Seeing how fast you can solve it is enjoyable and gives your fingers some great dexterity exercise. I have one on my desk and when I want to take a break from coding I'll scramble it up and fidget around with it for a bit.
gregfjohnson 4y ago
Given that you can solve the top layer, there is a really nice hack that lets you work out the rest of the puzzle. Say your top layer is completely solved, except that one of the top side pieces is flipped 180 degrees. You know a sequence of moves that will fix that piece, to solve the top layer. If you do that sequence and then run the same sequence backwards, you will get the cube back to the same place, first with that side piece fixed, and then rotated 180 degrees again. But here is the trick: Before you run the sequence backwards, rotate the top! You will restore the cube exactly to where it was, except that now TWO of the top side pieces will have been flipped 180 degrees! This is referred to as a commutator operation, and is what Ryan Heise explains. Variants of this trick will let you rotate two corners in opposite directions, and re-position two top pieces and one bottom piece. One last thing: when solving the bottom layer, you may find yourself unable to re-position cubies into place using 3-way moves. Just rotate the top layer 90 degrees and you will then be able to proceed to completion.
- slim 4y ago
  this should have come with a spoiler alert
_nalply 4y ago
I found my way to solve the Rubik cube thirty years ago. I still can solve the cube in between 5 and 10 minutes. My way of solving is not the fastest. Sometimes I have to repeat the last sequence six times and this takes a long time. But I know that my way is mine and only mine, and this makes me happy.
- _nalply 4y ago
  This comment got upvoted to 1970 and this is my birthday year. Thank you.
hota_mazi 4y ago
Actually, solving the cube is just the beginning of the game. If you are interested in optimizing, there are an infinite numbers of axes you can work on to solve faster. First, there are several general approaches, although realistically, only two (CFOP, Roux). Each of these methods have phases which you can practice and improve on separately, A lot of them require simple memorization (muscle memory for the most part) but all of them at some point contain a certain level of intuition and pattern recognition (e.g. lookahead), and for that, the only limit is your brain. It's a fascinating puzzle with neverending interest, at least for me (I solve in average around 25 seconds).

by slim 4y ago

lupire 4y ago

It's a huge leap to get past the first layer. Your curt rate of progress suggests that your strategy will not solve the cube in your lifetime. And it's almost impossible to do it without taking notes on paper or computer. (If that were doable, their wouldn't be so many walkthroughs). Solving the cube is a hard applied group theory "homework" problem. This video explains the principles of solving a Rubik's cube on your own. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-NL76uQOpI0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-NL76uQOpI0

SAI_Peregrinus 4y ago

The [Heise method](https://www.ryanheise.com/cube/heise_method.html https://www.ryanheise.com/cube/heise_method.html) is essentially that, but formalized. No algorithms to memorize, just understanding how the cube works and using that to solve it.

robot_no_421 4y ago

It's still fun once you learn how to solve it. But fun in a different way. You're treating it as a puzzle to solve. But once you learn how to solve it, it ceases to be a puzzle and it becomes a really fun fidget toy. Seeing how fast you can solve it is enjoyable and gives your fingers some great dexterity exercise. I have one on my desk and when I want to take a break from coding I'll scramble it up and fidget around with it for a bit.

gregfjohnson 4y ago

Given that you can solve the top layer, there is a really nice hack that lets you work out the rest of the puzzle. Say your top layer is completely solved, except that one of the top side pieces is flipped 180 degrees. You know a sequence of moves that will fix that piece, to solve the top layer. If you do that sequence and then run the same sequence backwards, you will get the cube back to the same place, first with that side piece fixed, and then rotated 180 degrees again. But here is the trick: Before you run the sequence backwards, rotate the top! You will restore the cube exactly to where it was, except that now TWO of the top side pieces will have been flipped 180 degrees! This is referred to as a commutator operation, and is what Ryan Heise explains. Variants of this trick will let you rotate two corners in opposite directions, and re-position two top pieces and one bottom piece. One last thing: when solving the bottom layer, you may find yourself unable to re-position cubies into place using 3-way moves. Just rotate the top layer 90 degrees and you will then be able to proceed to completion.

slim 4y ago
this should have come with a spoiler alert

_nalply 4y ago

I found my way to solve the Rubik cube thirty years ago. I still can solve the cube in between 5 and 10 minutes. My way of solving is not the fastest. Sometimes I have to repeat the last sequence six times and this takes a long time. But I know that my way is mine and only mine, and this makes me happy.

_nalply 4y ago
This comment got upvoted to 1970 and this is my birthday year. Thank you.

hota_mazi 4y ago

Actually, solving the cube is just the beginning of the game. If you are interested in optimizing, there are an infinite numbers of axes you can work on to solve faster. First, there are several general approaches, although realistically, only two (CFOP, Roux). Each of these methods have phases which you can practice and improve on separately, A lot of them require simple memorization (muscle memory for the most part) but all of them at some point contain a certain level of intuition and pattern recognition (e.g. lookahead), and for that, the only limit is your brain. It's a fascinating puzzle with neverending interest, at least for me (I solve in average around 25 seconds).