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The Mind of Elite Speedcubers

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rubikmaster

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So this is something I've been thinking about recently. When you look at world class athletes like sprinters, swimmers, weightlifters, high jumpers, long jumpers, arrow shooters, gymnasts etc., very explosive sports basically, you can't help but think about the insane amount of focus these athletes need to have in order to perform at their absolute best. Once they get in their "zone" they're able to perform amazing things. And of course, this also applies to "mental" sports like chess, memory competitions, etc.

I think all of this also might have some correlation with speedcubing as well. I feel like these solvers that turn at amazing speeds of 10+ tps with insanely quick lookahead and recognition have to be very aware of how they're interacting with cube. I think their focus is on a much higher lever than other cubers. And even though this is something they've done thousands of times before just like all these sports competitors their mind still needs to be in a certain "state" for them to be able to perform with such skill.

Now, this may not be limited to the fastest cubers. A cuber that averages 20 seconds will still find it just as hard to achieve perfect mental focus in order to be able to achieve good times. But the final point I'm trying to make is that this ability to achieve high focus is what sets apart the people who improve very quickly from the people who don't and in the end it separates the best cubers from the rest. The ones that that can utilize this ability in each and everyone of their solves are the ones that will "outrun" those who don't treat their solves so seriously. Yet, the funny thing is, most people who do use such techniques probably don't even realise that they're doing it.

Anyway, this topic is quite abstract so it wasn't very easy to put it all into words, but I hope you understood most of what I was trying to portray here. Anyway, tell me what you think. Do you agree/disagree? Would you define this concept a little differently. Have you guys actually notices something like this in your practice. That moment when you achieve full focus, you're on a roll and you're suddenly achieving much better times than usual. I'm interested to hear your thoughts.
 
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This never really happens to me in speedcubing, but I play soccer, and I reach this mind state, where I tune everything out, and I tend to make a goal everytime. So is that what you were trying to portray, or no?
 

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yeah, i would agree, you want to get into a strong focus to do your best. i don't know if elite solvers can actually do this better or is what separates them from others, just their focus is on better things. In my experience in chess, a very weak player may very well focus much more than a stronger one, looking at what pieces are in danger and calculating inefficiently and analyzing nonsense lines; the strong player could just do the first thing that comes to mind, and it would be better by far.
 
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Personally, i dont think its very important to be focused in cubing. Most people say that you shouldnt be thinking during solves, and that everything should be instinctive. In my experience, too much focus causes nerves. Being relaxed seems to work best.

yeah, i would agree, you want to get into a strong focus to do your best. i don't know if elite solvers can actually do this better or is what separates them from others, just their focus is on better things. In my experience in chess, a very weak player may very well focus much more than a stronger one, looking at what pieces are in danger and calculating inefficiently and analyzing nonsense lines; the strong player could just do the first thing that comes to mind, and it would be better by far.

I would call you elite! Theres the instinct i mentioned. In cubing, decisions such as which f2l pair to solve next is a very important and quick choice. A faster cuber might instinctively pick the most efficient pair, a multislot, or edge control/LS stuff, while a slower cuber might pick an innefficient pair. What really separates the elite cubers is their ability to make good decisions quickly without even having to think about it.
 

qqwref

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I'm not sure how much focus is involved in solving a small puzzle like 3x3x3 - there isn't really much time to get in the zone. You can get in the zone during a session, but not realy at a competition where you are milling around, waiting to get called up, inspecting, etc. There is more focus during longer events like big cubes (or even the extremely big cubes some people solve on the computer) or long BLD events. Of course, the longer the event the fewer people who are good enough to do it quickly without a lot of thinking.
 

fiftyniner

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Personally, i dont think its very important to be focused in cubing. Most people say that you shouldnt be thinking during solves, and that everything should be instinctive. In my experience, too much focus causes nerves. Being relaxed seems to work best.
...


I would call you elite! Theres the instinct i mentioned. In cubing, decisions such as which f2l pair to solve next is a very important and quick choice. A faster cuber might instinctively pick the most efficient pair, a multislot, or edge control/LS stuff, while a slower cuber might pick an innefficient pair. What really separates the elite cubers is their ability to make good decisions quickly without even having to think about it.

I checked out your cubing "history" from your signature line. You went from a noob to sub 10. All in a year - amazing!
Penguins DO fly.
 

GuRoux

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Personally, i dont think its very important to be focused in cubing. Most people say that you shouldnt be thinking during solves, and that everything should be instinctive. In my experience, too much focus causes nerves. Being relaxed seems to work best.

.

i find if i'm not focused, i take longer to recognize stuff, get lazy don't predict next step or don't predict all of first block, tend not to spam tps in last pair, cmll, and lse and that makes me much slower.
 

Petro Leum

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Personally, i dont think its very important to be focused in cubing. Most people say that you shouldnt be thinking during solves, and that everything should be instinctive. In my experience, too much focus causes nerves. Being relaxed seems to work best.



I would call you elite! Theres the instinct i mentioned. In cubing, decisions such as which f2l pair to solve next is a very important and quick choice. A faster cuber might instinctively pick the most efficient pair, a multislot, or edge control/LS stuff, while a slower cuber might pick an innefficient pair. What really separates the elite cubers is their ability to make good decisions quickly without even having to think about it.

i know what you mean, and i myself get "overfocused" sometimes as well, causing me to think to much which hinders my lookahead and decision making, and also makes me nervous when i get good solves so that i screw up the next ones.

HOWEVER, i think having a good focus overall is really important. when im kinda exhausted or theres **** happening in my life (exams, family, people, other hobbies), and my thought wander while solving, i quickly lose all concentration and my times get 2-3 seconds worse just from that.

Now, flow is exactly the zone in between. when you dont have to put alot into concentrating and getting doing your best, but everything just works flawless and you dont have to think much at all. you just keep solving and it seems super effortless.
 
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I checked out your cubing "history" from your signature line. You went from a noob to sub 10. All in a year - amazing!
Penguins DO fly.

thanks, but the number of people who have complemented me on this is more impressive than my improvement. seriously...my improvement isnt that special...stahp...ur all so nice but...plz no...im nothing special. anyone who works hard can improve quickly.

i find if i'm not focused, i take longer to recognize stuff, get lazy don't predict next step or don't predict all of first block, tend not to spam tps in last pair, cmll, and lse and that makes me much slower.

hmm. im the exact opposite. I focus in my MUSIC instead of the cube. its a shame we cant listen to music at comps. its not like im going to have someone calling team blind codes over radio somehow.
 

GuRoux

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hmm. im the exact opposite. I focus in my MUSIC instead of the cube. its a shame we cant listen to music at comps. its not like im going to have someone calling team blind codes over radio somehow.

i'm not much of a music listener, but focus in music?! unless you're some type of music composer or something, that seems kind of hard to do, and while cubing.....
 

rubikmaster

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the concept you're referring to is "flow", and it's quite well known.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)

I think this perfectly describes it.

Anyway, can you guys relate to some of these?
Components

Jeanne Nakamura and Csíkszentmihályi identify the following six factors as encompassing an experience of flow.

1. Intense and focused concentration on the present moment
2. Merging of action and awareness
3. A loss of reflective self-consciousness
4. A sense of personal control or agency over the situation or activity
5. A distortion of temporal experience, one's subjective experience of time is altered
6. Experience of the activity as intrinsically rewarding, also referred to as autotelic experience

Those aspects can appear independently of each other, but only in combination do they constitute a so-called flow experience. Additionally, psychology expert, Kendra Cherry, has mentioned three other components that Csíkszentmihályi lists as being a part of the flow experience:

1. "Immediate feedback"
2. Feeling that you have the potential to succeed
3. Feeling so engrossed in the experience, that other needs become negligible

Just as with the conditions listed above, these conditions can be independent of one another.
 
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