jiggy
Member
A tall guy in a beanie sat next to me and pulled out a cube. Of course, it caught my eye immediately, but my excitement was short lived as in the next second I clocked the make of the puzzle - Rubik's brand.
Ok, so this guy was unlikely to be a pro, but still, it's not every day that you happen upon a kindred cuber on the Victoria line. I settled in as my new friend scrambled and watched him solve. As expected, he was using Layer By Layer. An orange cross was already partially formed and this is where he began - Was he a lucky orange cross solver? Or was my friend starting out colour neutral?
Part of me hoped he would continue into F2L, but of course, lone corners were followed by lone edges. Nevertheless, his pace was reasonable and had made no mistakes. I was pleased to see him orientate his cube last layer facing upwards as he moved in to a 2 (or three) look OLL with Sune. A good permutation saw him finish.
Ok, this guy clearly wasn't winning any competitions, but I was very pleased with what I had seen. His cube was wearing with practice and his execution had been reasonably without fault. My stop was next, I had to get off the tube, but I couldn't help myself. As he was starting to re-scramble for another solve I gave him a nudge.
It's the same nudge we've all received. You can tell when someone's been watching you solve. Then they tap you on the shoulder and gawp about this amazing feat they have just witnessed. Of course, this is nothing amazing to you, so you awkwardly thank them and maybe go on to explain that it's really very simple.
Anxious to avoid this kind of encounter and painfully aware that my stop was just a few seconds away, I cut to the chase. Complimenting him on his speed with LBL, I asked him if he had considered moving to Fridrich? (I didn't have time for a discussion on the merits of other speed solving methods.) To my pleasure, he seemed to know what Friedrich was. He knew it was faster but felt it was hard. At least he had done some research around the subject!
I attempted to encourage him, "it's not too difficult", I assured him as my stop arrived. "Look in to F2L and 2 look OLL" I blurted, rising to my feet. He smiled, although I'm still not sure we had an understanding. An awkward wave was topped off with a thumbs up - for extra awkwardness - and I jumped off the train. "And invest in a better cube!" The suggestion came to me too late.
It's a shame that I didn't get to have more of a conversation with him, one of the only other cuber's I've met, but at the same time I'm glad our paths crossed, even briefly. I find it amazing that this puzzle we all love continues to draw eager new minds. I'll probably never know, but I hope he does keep solving and looks in to new, faster, methods. Perhaps he'll even find his way to these forums, which, alas, I never have the time the visit any more.
Regardless, I thought I would share my short encounter with this budding cuber with you guys!
How about you? Ever spotted a random cuber, who you did not know, in a place you never expected to see them?
Ok, so this guy was unlikely to be a pro, but still, it's not every day that you happen upon a kindred cuber on the Victoria line. I settled in as my new friend scrambled and watched him solve. As expected, he was using Layer By Layer. An orange cross was already partially formed and this is where he began - Was he a lucky orange cross solver? Or was my friend starting out colour neutral?
Part of me hoped he would continue into F2L, but of course, lone corners were followed by lone edges. Nevertheless, his pace was reasonable and had made no mistakes. I was pleased to see him orientate his cube last layer facing upwards as he moved in to a 2 (or three) look OLL with Sune. A good permutation saw him finish.
Ok, this guy clearly wasn't winning any competitions, but I was very pleased with what I had seen. His cube was wearing with practice and his execution had been reasonably without fault. My stop was next, I had to get off the tube, but I couldn't help myself. As he was starting to re-scramble for another solve I gave him a nudge.
It's the same nudge we've all received. You can tell when someone's been watching you solve. Then they tap you on the shoulder and gawp about this amazing feat they have just witnessed. Of course, this is nothing amazing to you, so you awkwardly thank them and maybe go on to explain that it's really very simple.
Anxious to avoid this kind of encounter and painfully aware that my stop was just a few seconds away, I cut to the chase. Complimenting him on his speed with LBL, I asked him if he had considered moving to Fridrich? (I didn't have time for a discussion on the merits of other speed solving methods.) To my pleasure, he seemed to know what Friedrich was. He knew it was faster but felt it was hard. At least he had done some research around the subject!
I attempted to encourage him, "it's not too difficult", I assured him as my stop arrived. "Look in to F2L and 2 look OLL" I blurted, rising to my feet. He smiled, although I'm still not sure we had an understanding. An awkward wave was topped off with a thumbs up - for extra awkwardness - and I jumped off the train. "And invest in a better cube!" The suggestion came to me too late.
It's a shame that I didn't get to have more of a conversation with him, one of the only other cuber's I've met, but at the same time I'm glad our paths crossed, even briefly. I find it amazing that this puzzle we all love continues to draw eager new minds. I'll probably never know, but I hope he does keep solving and looks in to new, faster, methods. Perhaps he'll even find his way to these forums, which, alas, I never have the time the visit any more.
Regardless, I thought I would share my short encounter with this budding cuber with you guys!
How about you? Ever spotted a random cuber, who you did not know, in a place you never expected to see them?