Have you ever solved a Rubik's Cube?

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Crazy. I wonder what the trick is?

An immense amount of practice. Drilling sequences that are physically for your hand and the cube very fast. Being able to memorize the positions of squares you're not looking at. Knowing with the current position of squares what's the fastest set of moves to solve.

 

[lxskllr]

Doing it wrong

I worked at that stupid thing forever to get that, and then fucked it up. I think I might have quit it at that point. My daughter found it, and I played with it a few minutes, but it wasn't fun. I just can't get in to it anymore.

 

[Ken g6]

Yes, but never without instructions.

 

[Ferzerp]

I worked at that stupid thing forever to get that, and then fucked it up. I think I might have quit it at that point. My daughter found it, and I played with it a few minutes, but it wasn't fun. I just can't get in to it anymore.

It is 3 layers, not 6 faces.

 

[ProchargeMe]

Yes, i had some friends teach me a few ways to solve one but I've forgotten most of what i learned over the years.

 

[l0cke]

I did it once when I was younger (like 12). Haven't tried since.

One of my friends is a speedcuber or whatever. He can even do them blindfolded and with his feet!

 

[SearchMaster]

I was 11 or 12 when they came out and memorized enough of the patterns that I could solve it in a couple of minutes every time. Now 30 years later, my son bought one and I still knew enough of the patterns to solve it but slower now.

 

[Mixolydian]

Wow, a lot of geniuses here. I feel stupid now.

 

[Ferzerp]

Wow, a lot of geniuses here. I feel stupid now.

There were small books published detailing solution methods. It's really just formulas to follow that aren't overly difficult to learn. I couldn't do it now though. This book is *very* short. There are really only a few moves needed. The middle layer is just 1 type of move. The top layer is a few. Off the top of my head: swapping corners, twirling corners, swapping middles, flipping middles. That's really only 5 types moves you need.

 

[JujuFish]

I can solve a Rubik's Cube and Rubik's Revenge.

 

[Brigandier]

Used to know how to solve it, a buddy of mine that sat next to me in math taught me the formulas.

 

[IronWing]

And we now pause our thread to bring you another Great Moment in Nerd History...

The scene: a sunny winter day, downtown in a small midwestern city circa 1981.

Our story: Our hero (a nerd), Ironwing, has exited a corner drugstore with his new purchase, keychain-sized Rubik's Cube in hand. Ironwing crosses the busy street and walks toward his destination, a bus stop. While walking along Ironwing stats playing with the Rubik's Cube. Ironwing becomes engrossed in the Rubik's Cube when suddenly, as though beset upon by the demons of hell, Ironwing drops to the ground, screaming in pain. A passerby, witnessing the scene rushes to Ironwing's aid. Ironwing, realizing what has happened, waves off the passerby while trying to figure out which hurts more, his dignity or what's left of his right shin with which he just impacted a fire hydrant.

Rubik's Cubes - fear them.

 

[zinfamous]

hell no. fuck that little gadget. designed by satan, it was!

 

[SKORPI0]

I've always wanted to get my hands on one of these nice toy.

CubeStormer II, A Lego Robot, Sets Rubik's Cube Record (VIDEO) - Oct 2011.

Dubbed CubeStormer II, the robot, which was invented by David Gilday and Mike Dobson, finished the puzzle in 5.352 seconds

 

[boomhower]

Nope, never really tried since I was a kid either.

 

[darkxshade]

There's an easy way to solve it by memorizing and following a set of rules/algorithms. I can solve one everytime within 3 mins which is good enough for me. I don't even remember the later steps but can still do it just by using muscle memory.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Have not played with one in a while but I have played with them. I'm pretty sure I have solved one, I can't say I did it fast though. I'm sure I could if I tried again but it would not be in like a minute like you see some people do. Maybe give me a couple hours.

I'm sure there's a science to it though. I saw a video of a robot that could actually solve one extremly fast. It would scan the colors then figure out how to move it and do it in like 10 moves if less. Would be fun to write a program for that.

edit: actually the robot I saw is probably what Skorpi0 posted. For some reason my flash is screwing up so I can't confirm.