[Member Intro] Rubik's cube: a Christmas gift to myself

[tps]

Hi,

My name is Tim. I'm 59 years old, and never until just recently have I solved a Rubik's cube. I decided to learn, and have been playing with it a lot for the past couple weeks. I started out with the beginner's method from rubiks.com. So far, I've just been solving without timing. Just turning the cube and watching what happens. I've worked out a few things on my own: solving the white corners with yellow up, which actually seems to be much easier for me than white up method of the cheat sheet.

When I first got the cube, I wondered how I'd be able to solve it at all. Now, I wonder how I'll ever solve it quickly. Look-ahead, finger-tricks, and all that seem almost impossible from a beginner's perspective. But, OTOH, solving it AT ALL seemed impossible until I tried.

Thanks for building this great on-line community!

 

[rjcaste]

Welcome!

You'll love our community!

Everyone was a beginner once. Don't worry you'll improve in no time. It's all down to practice and determination.

 

[jms]

It can be daunting, but I've dropped my average from about 3 and a half minutes to under one and a half minutes in just under 3 weeks. I, like you, am older than the average cuber.

 

[TDM]

Welcome!

 

[Lazy Einstein]

Welcome to the wonderful world of cubing.

You'll find a wide variety of people on here. I am 30 years old, which is older than the average cuber. Hope you find stuff on here to motivate you to learn more.

 

[PenguinsDontFly]

Hey watsup. Welcome to cubing. I am an average cuber's age.

 

[jms]

Hey watsup. Welcome to cubing. I am an average cuber's age.

How old is that?

 

[sneaklyfox]

Welcome!

 

[PenguinsDontFly]

How old is that?

Sub 20

 

[tps]

I tried timing myself for the first time since I started: 2:35. Lots of pauses, slow turning, but at least no mistakes. It will be interesting to see what it takes to get to 1 minute...

 

[jms]

Sub 20

 

[jms]

I tried timing myself for the first time since I started: 2:35. Lots of pauses, slow turning, but at least no mistakes. It will be interesting to see what it takes to get to 1 minute...

Learning 4LLL helped me get to a 1 minute solve.

 

[stoic]

Welcome and good luck! I hope you like it here.

 

[Tactix47]

Welcome, Tim! I too am an older cuber (44), and I've been at it for a couple of months. During that time, I've had a very gradual progression from about 3.5 minutes with the beginner's method to an average of 75 seconds using F2L and (a very imperfect) 2-Look OLL. I only time a small percentage of my solves, preferring to "watch and learn" while I'm solving. Enjoy the journey, and congratulations on giving yourself a great Christmas present!

 

[Fireman32]

Welcome. I just got back into cubing after many years. I am just about to turn 44. Got in my first speedcube on Monday a Shengshou 3x3 and I love it. I have my solve time with the beginners method to an average of 1:15. Starting to learn Roux and hope to be 30 seconds soon

 

[ComputerGuy365]

Welcome

 

[tps]

Still cubing, mostly untimed, trying to learn better recognition for the 2nd layer edges so I don't pause so much. Interestingly I'm getting faster at the repetitive LL stuff which I will eventually ditch to learn the 4LLL algorithms. Not worrying too much about turning style yet. My brain can only take in so much at a time before I overload...

I've been trying a couple Chinese cubes; I loaned my Rubik's brand cube to a mate in the office who in showing some interest. He's much younger and may end up picking it up a lot faster.

 

[ketchuphater999]

Still cubing, mostly untimed, trying to learn better recognition for the 2nd layer edges so I don't pause so much. Interestingly I'm getting faster at the repetitive LL stuff which I will eventually ditch to learn the 4LLL algorithms. Not worrying too much about turning style yet. My brain can only take in so much at a time before I overload...

I've been trying a couple Chinese cubes; I loaned my Rubik's brand cube to a mate in the office who in showing some interest. He's much younger and may end up picking it up a lot faster.

Learning a little more slowly will probably help your brain adapt and not overload. You've gotten farther than more than 99% of the world population by solving the cube in the first place.

Try playing around with the cube, with no pressure or timing etc. and you will eventually develop an intuitive understanding of how the pieces actually move around. IMO learning F2L at an early stage will really help, not only with speed but with general understanding. 4LLL should last you until you are around a 25-35 second average, so after learning it you shouldn't really worry about 2LLL very soon.

on the other hand: Don't jump straight to learning CFOP, as many beginners do. Try out different methods like Roux and ZZ, and choose one that you like. Also, try to be color neutral right from the start(color neutral: your solves are on average just as fast, regardless of the face you start on). I made the mistake of always starting on white, and now I'm struggling to become neutral.

 

[tps]

Just tried to solve with a Blue cross instead of White. <Brain Explodes> But I was able to get it solved. F2L with blue cross was a *****, but LL wasn't as bad as I thought.

 

[earth2dan]

I tried timing myself for the first time since I started: 2:35. Lots of pauses, slow turning, but at least no mistakes. It will be interesting to see what it takes to get to 1 minute...

Welcome to the community!

2:35 is not bad at all. I'm 32, and I think I was over 3 minutes the first time I ever timed myself on my Rubik's brand cube. I learned 2-look OLL and 2-look PLL to get my times under 1 minute, but with practice it's totally achievable with beginners method. Buying a decent (not Rubik's brand) speedcube makes a HUGE difference too. My Rubik's brand cube is just an ornament now

These days I'm consumed (borderline obsessed) with chasing that elusive sub 20