• Welcome to the Speedsolving.com, home of the web's largest puzzle community!
    You are currently viewing our forum as a guest which gives you limited access to join discussions and access our other features.

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community of 40,000+ people from around the world today!

    If you are already a member, simply login to hide this message and begin participating in the community!

Teaching someone how to solve the cube

pjk

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 13, 2006
Messages
6,686
WCA
2007KELL02
SS Competition Results
Okay, when teaching someone to solve the cube, what do you think is best? If you could explain to someone all the notation and what not, do you think it would be better to start off learning Fridrich? I used many beginners methods to put together a small guide to help me solve it, but if I would have started with Fridrich, it seems that you would have it done faster. Not that being fast is key, but it might be a good thing to try to teach someone. Then again, using the beginners method and then switching gives you a better idea of how the cube works.
 

dougreed

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
287
Location
Austin, TX
I've always the best route is to start them off with a simple LBL method with a 4-look LL that can be easily expanded to a 3 or 2 look LL. This way the person learns to solve the cube without a whole lot of time investment (which seems to be the major deterrant) but still has a strong foundation to build off of.

-Doug
 

cubekid

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Messages
104
Location
Austin, TX
WCA
2005UPAD02
Also, after teaching them the regular lbl 4-look, as soon as they get within 10 seconds of a minute and want to learn more, teach them f2l. I've done that with a few people here, and they're getting fast really fast.
 

pjgat09

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
87
Location
Hiding, and waiting
I suggest LBL with 4LLL. Thats what I am teaching my friend currently.

what should i do after he masters that? I don't know F2L! I'm a roux-er. :)
 

dougreed

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
287
Location
Austin, TX
Well, you can always print out some algs or a method or something for him. But teaching him Roux might be easier for you since you'd be able to answer his questions.

-Doug
 

Erik

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2006
Messages
2,661
Location
Enschede, Netherlands, Netherlands
WCA
2005AKKE01
YouTube
Visit Channel
Here is what I learn people, it goes in 2 stages, 1 very basic and 1 pretty fast.
Basic:
1. Cross
2. Corners
3. 2nd layer
4. edge orientation (1 alg)
5. Corner orientation (1 alg: BR'B'R)
6. Corner permutation (1 alg)
7. Edge permutation (1 alg)

Faster:
1. Cross
2. 3 Corners
3. Edges (working corner)
4. Last corner
5. Last edge
6. Edge Orientation (2 algs)
7. corner orientation (2 algs (sunes))
8. Corner permutation (2 algs)
9. Edge Orientation

With the last method I did 20 sec. once...
If there realy interested in getting faster I learn them:
1. Cross
2. F2L
3. Edge Orient
4. Corner orient (7 algs)
5. PLL

I don't know a lot on real beginners methods with almost no algs, so this is just what I do to learn someone the cube, do with it whatever you want.

Erik
 

korkow

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2006
Messages
11
Actually, I STRONGLY recommend NOT teaching people, but rather encouraging people to do it themselves. I was talking to Stefan Pochmann earlier, and he (along with many expierienced cubers) would want to just about kill the person who tought him how. Most people really regret not figuring it out by themselves. Luckily, I figured it out myself; no one ever encouraged me. I just kinda did it.
 

Joël

Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
Messages
633
Location
3rd rock from the sun
WCA
2004NOOR01
Originally posted by korkow@Apr 2 2006, 03:28 AM
Actually, I STRONGLY recommend NOT teaching people, but rather encouraging people to do it themselves. I was talking to Stefan Pochmann earlier, and he (along with many expierienced cubers) would want to just about kill the person who tought him how. Most people really regret not figuring it out by themselves. Luckily, I figured it out myself; no one ever encouraged me. I just kinda did it.
Yes, well, maybe you are right about that... However, some people just don't really want to figure it out themselves at all, but they DO want to learn it. :)
 

Richard

Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2006
Messages
130
Location
Colorado, USA
I agree with Joel. I have seen many people who are interested in the cube and want to learn it, but not bad enough to go through all the frustration that comes with learning it by yourself. Then when i help them, they pretty much become obsessed with it, they go buy their own cube, and they start cubing. If i would not of helped them, they simply would not have bothered, and we'd have one less cuber on this planet...
 

korkow

Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2006
Messages
11
I would say, teach them to do the first two layers, and maybe ONE step of the LL if they are still completely confused. It seems that once someone can get the basic logic of the cube, they can develop their own algs easier. For me, one of my first completely logical algs was RUR'URU2R' (for permuting the last 4 corners). When I did that, i just sort of watched as the pieces were moving around, and then having the bottom corners fall right back into place. It was like a spark, and the rest of my algs came into place by my self. (I used a WIERD, slow method back then)
 
Joined
Apr 22, 2006
Messages
54
Location
Oranjestad, Aruba
WCA
2003BLON01
YouTube
Visit Channel
I think it's not bad to first ask someone if they would not rather solve it themselves. I did and I am thankful for it. On the other hand, I have deliberately closed my eyes when people opened up books (it was the 80's, no internet) about the cube. When they explained that they had better methods than mine I would tell them to please not give me any tips and don't show me your book or your method. I thought it would destroy my creative thinking and it would keep me from knowing wether I really came up with a solution myself. So if someone doesn't want to learn he is sure not going to ask. ;)
 

Harris Chan

Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2006
Messages
783
WCA
2007CHAN07
YouTube
Visit Channel
I had one friend who learned to solve the cube by himself from Joel's site. And another friend who I'm trying to teach to...and it's literally the same method as Joel's. But he just can't do it!!! It's either his expectation isn't high (just solving 1 face is good enough), or I need to explain it differently. The greatest thing that prevents him is that he just doesn't wan to visit cubing sites...he's afraid that it will look nerdy or something...SAD...

Of course, he's using a dollar cube, and asked me on whether there's anything that can make it turn better...as he doesn't want to buy real one because he's afraid it will be a waste of money since he can't solve it. BUT I CAN'T SOLVE IT WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT THE CUBE TOO!!!!

Harris
 

BillT

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2006
Messages
23
Location
Reading, PA, USA
I haven't taught anyone to solve the whole cube, but I've taught one person the LL (Peter's mom) and two people the cross and first layer corners. But whenever I try to teach someone, I try not to tell them, "here's this eight move alg to do this to the cube." Rather, I try to explain to them what to do and how to do it by showing them why it works. For instance, I taught Peter's mom the LL by teaching her simplified commutators and conjugates, while explaining why they work. The bonus of this is that the person understands why their solution works and thus they learn the method faster.

-Bill
 

ZarqaMalik

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2006
Messages
55
Location
Sitting in a chair......
I've taught a couple of people how to cube, but it's very hard, atleast for me. I tend to get mad very easily(anger problem)and point out their mistakes..but for some reason I'm finding it harder and harder to teach someone how to solve the cross! I decided to teach my little brother the Petrus method so I don't have to explain the cross to him..but I'm going to have to teach him layer by layer afterall..and I don't know what to tell him..the cross is just so hard to teach...
 
Top