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?
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.
I went to cubeskills.com, watched their videos, and learned “the beginner method.”
I can solve now in under a minute, 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.
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.
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 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.
There are only a few minimum algorithms you need to memorize to solve one. The real fun is learning more so you can solve it more efficiently/faster.
I took the stickers off and put them back on in order when I was a kid lol
Speedcubing is a fun hobby. I don’t know anyone who has solved a cube fully without instructions.
I’ve had a cube for quite a few years now for casual fidgeting. My current best time is just under 50s using this official Rubik’s Cube guide (plus a few personal optimizations).
I’ve tried my hand at proper speedcubing algorithms, but they’re just a bit too complex for me to handle, and I’m perfectly happy where I am at with my cube.
Anyways, be proud of your son, and don’t kick yourself for not knowing how to solve it. At this point it’s a memorization game, and if that’s not your cup of tea, that’s fine!
I learned back in high school from a friend out of boredom. Now it’s just a fidget thing. I don’t really go for speed. I just solve it if I’m bored
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.
I learnt from instructions in a booklet I found at grandma’s house when I was in my early teens. I have since forgotten how to do the last layer.
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 learnt to solve them in school 17 years ago or so. There’s guides etc on the internet its really simple when you memories the steps.
The real fun part for me is only solving the first layer and the T on the side since after that it’s just memorised steps and nothing more
As for you question, I would say be proud it’s showed dedication to something he wanted to learn
I learned as an adult by reading a website with instructions and practicing until I could remember and understand what’s going on.
My favourite to solve is a “mirror cube”. It has blocks of the same colour, but they have unequal lenghts of sides, and I’ve learned to solve it without looking.
i found them interesting before i knew the tricks. i’ve still never solved one, because memorizing patterns isn’t interesting for a puzzle.
I solved it by memorizing the steps when I was an adult. My son solved it at 8 years old. The young take over from the old. It’s the way of things.
