Fearless_Hyena

Who here can do the Rubik's Cube? Just wondering...

(In some other countries it's also called "Magic Cube").
If you learned it when you were younger, can you still do it? I recently taught myself to solve the cube again during the boring times at work. I used to be able to do it back in the 80's but had long since forgotten the method. I remember it took a lot longer than it does now -- my fastest time is 1:47 but that was lucky, it normally takes me about 2-1/2 minutes. The official world record is 22 seconds, but there's some professor lady on the Internet who has videos of her doing it in like 16 seconds, now that's insane!!

I still think it's fun as shit. Who else can solve the cube??

Kaos

I could never do it...well I could when I took the stickers off and placed them back on in the proper places

I still doubt I could ever do it.

The_wall

I can't do it lol.

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God of Thunder

I used to able to, back in the day. I remember actually having contests to see who could do it the fastest. Hard to believe the 6th grade was so long ago.

I tried it again recently and I couldn't finish it. My method was to solve it one layer at a time, starting from the top. I got the first two layers, but couldn't complete the bottom layer.

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1337haxor

I was close but couldn't finish it so i gave up.

-Robert

skier

When I was 5 once I solved the cube. I think it was mostly by accident though. My dad was really proud and showed it off to his friends. Now I can solve the puzzle after about 15-20 minutes.

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H12

Pssh, never could. I used to be able to get a side or two, but I never could do any more than that.

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bermuDa

i have a friend in USC who told me about a friend who can solve it in under a minute, I want to learn that method!

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MaGlC_MaN

i can only get one side. does that make me a lesser individual?

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Fremen

Only one side for me, as well.
I also rearranged the stickers at one time. I felt bad afterwards, too.

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bundy

hey, thats what i used to do.
i felt so proud after i switched all of the stickers around so it looked like i had completed it.
i did complete it, kind of...

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Cynthetiq

i haven't done in a few years, but yes, last time I picked it up I was still able.

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Yakk

Does a 2x2x2 rubix cube count? (in particular, I solved a 'blocky' state of a 4x4x4)

Worked out how to do that about 6 months ago: you can also get 2x2x2 rubic cubes in cereal boxes sometimes, but those are really hard to turn. Haven't gotten around to the 3x3x3 yet: from friends who can do it, it is just a matter of learning a few more "operations".

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Last edited by JHVH : 10-29-4004 BC at 09:00 PM. Reason: Time for a rest.

Fearless_Hyena

Yakk -- you're right, the key is to learn certain "operations" -- basically the more you can memorize, the faster you get. To do it in less than 30 seconds requires memorizing about 47 different moves based on where the cube parts are

God of Thunder -- the last layer is most definitely the toughest! you gotta solve the edge pieces and then rotate the corners into the right position.


I use the layer method with a "notch", where one corner is left unsolved until the very end and you flip peices in and out of the notch in order to put them in the right place. I'll look for a link that describes it and post it if I find one....

bparker805

I just used to pull the damn thing apart and put it back together. I didn't think of it as cheating. I was thinking outside of the box to get the same desired results.

skysooner

It was very easy once I had it figured out, but again that was 20 years ago

CSflim

If you swap some of the stickers on the cube, you can put it into a starting configuration from which it is impossible to solve.

Hand that to the nearest smartass... and time him!

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Angel

I used to be able to do it pretty fast. I don't remember how long it took but we used to have races to see who could do it the fastest.
My son, who was just a tiny tike at the time, could do it amazingly fast for those tiny little hands. It was always so funny to watch him do it. So just this year, I bought him one as one of his Christmas gifts and we talked about how his little hands were so fast. Then he goes over to his fathers and what is one of HIS gifts? Yup! Another cube accompanied by the same story to others there. BTW...he still kicks ass on it!
Me? Nah, I haven't given it the mind to do it. But I'm quite certain if I sat down and played with it I could get it and from there pick up speed. *shrugs*

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raeanna74

back in the 80's got so good I could do it in minutes. Got a rubiks star too that I could solve fairly quickly.

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CinnamonGirl

The last time I tried, I got fed up with it within a minute... I'll have to buy one and try again.

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noahfor

Not to change the subject, but has anyone ever seen the fastest times for the hardest level on minesweeper. People solve that in like under a minute, which is crazy.

bacon_masta

first time i solved it, i used a hammer and super glue now i can solve it WITHOUT the hammer in about 15 mins or so. once you get the pattern of the motions you need to make it's pretty simple.

NoLa

Once many years ago.

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Lasereth

http://benjerry.middlebury.edu/~knig...s/Solution.mov

I saw the woman that did it in 16 seconds. She has incredible control with her hands! That guy I linked was pretty good too though.

-Lasereth

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RoboBlaster

That infernal cube is the bane of my existance.

Chingal0

I am horridly bad at the 'cube' and at those slider puzzle things. I am not sure why, but they both hate me, and I hate them just as much.

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Daval

Thats my excuse too!

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mastboyx

yeah that thing is just way to tough for me, cant deal with it

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Captain Canada

I can get close. But never actually do it.

Redlemon

I learned how to do it with a book back the first time they were around, and I think I had about a 2-minute completion time. I have no idea how to do it anymore, and I won't embarass myself by trying it.

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Bobaphat

Not me man, I am useless with those things, but when I was in college, there was a guy at a bar I used to work at that was friggin amazing. He sat there, trashed off his ass, and just solved it repeatedly within seconds, it was insane. He would have anyone mix it up for as long as they wanted and he would just grab it and do it. I swear, it never took him even 20 seconds and he did it over and over again. It boggled my mind

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etla

I used to be able to complete it in less than 2 minutes but now it takes me 10-15. I'd bet with a few hours of practice I'd be down to 2 minutes.

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iccky

My RA last year could do one in seventy seconds. Quite possibly the most impressive thing I've ever seen.

Karby

i've only done one side. i tried to do them one at a time, but that never really worked out. i can't remember the last time i tried to finish one though.

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crackpot

I had a two minutes or so completion time, back when. Still know how.
Actually as a kid, I'd popped the pieces out, and lubed the inside of it with vaseline, to improve my time. What a geek. Heh.

SonicRL

*Starts thinking about the Rubik's Cube in the basement*

Never could solve the little sucker. =\

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Kllr Wolf

I have solved it by using the sticker method. Other than that, it has eluded me to the point of frustration.

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insidious_machinae

I can solve in 1 min and 30 seconds. I got interested when a friend of mine had his at freshmen orientation for college last summer. I bought one and taught myself how to solve it over a period of a few days. It's really not that bad. Just don't be afraid to ask people for help.


Check out www.speedcubing.com
There's people that can solve in 12 seconds.

iccky

A fun thing to do with the people who can do it in a minute is switch two of the stickers. Drives 'em crazy

EskimoDave

I hate rubik's cubes. They are too bloody hard.