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[Poll] Can anyone be sub-10?

What is the average cuber capable of achieving in his lifetime?

  • Sub-8

    Votes: 33 21.4%
  • Sub-9

    Votes: 9 5.8%
  • Sub-10

    Votes: 30 19.5%
  • Sub-11

    Votes: 7 4.5%
  • Sub-12

    Votes: 18 11.7%
  • Sub-13

    Votes: 9 5.8%
  • Sub-14

    Votes: 2 1.3%
  • Sub-15

    Votes: 28 18.2%
  • Sub-17

    Votes: 2 1.3%
  • Sub-20

    Votes: 16 10.4%

  • Total voters
    154

rubikmaster

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So I think this could spark up some discussion. Four or five years ago, almost everyone would have answered this question with "No freakin way!". But I feel that in 2015, posing such a question doesn't sound so unrealistic.

The question is whether it is possible for every cuber to achieve sub-10 times. Provided they have all the knowledge they require (like X-Cross, Advanced F2L Techniques, OLL, PLL, CLL, VHLS, some ZBLL, etc.) and a great cube that suits them, would any cuber eventually be able to improve their F2L lookahead, OLL/PLL recognitition and overall TPS to the point of being able to achieve sub 10 times? For some people that may only be achievable by practicing 4 hours/day for 5 years, for some it may be a matter of months. But, does the average person possess the mental and physical ability to be sub-10 at one point, with enough dedication and practice?

Yes, I do realise I've only talked about CFOP, so if you think another method might be superior, feel free to share your opinion.

Now to make this discussion more interesting I've decided to create a poll of what you think the average person is capable of achieving. Newbie cubers might have an inaccuarate perspective on this so please try to look at this objectively and arrive at a logical conclusion. Please vote, I think the results will be very interesting. :)
 

Myachii

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If a cuber is willing to learn the basic alg sets like OLL and PLL, you can get sub-8 with enough practice. It sure will take a while, but as you said they have a lifetime so of course it's possible.
 

rubikmaster

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If a cuber is willing to learn the basic alg sets like OLL and PLL, you can get sub-8 with enough practice. It sure will take a while, but as you said they have a lifetime so of course it's possible.

Interesting, but I still think there's a certain percentage of cubers which might never be able to reach that level of skill. I also believe genetics could play a part in finger dexterity and mental ability when it comes to speedcubing.
 

SenorJuan

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There's not much chance of us older cubers achieving it. Slower fingers, slower reactions, less time for practice, etc.
 

Petro Leum

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As an idealist, i like to believe anyone could be the WR holder with enough practice. unfortunately, there are alot of things that indicate otherwise, and it makes me sad every time i have to doubt it.... :(
 

Isaac Lai

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I think it is possible. You just have to spam practice, drill algs and be as efficient as you can possibly be. Just look at Chan Hong Lik.
 

RicardoRix

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The groups:
'Can anyone', 'average cuber', 'Provided they have all the knowledge they require (like X-Cross, Advanced F2L Techniques, OLL, PLL, CLL, VHLS, some ZBLL, etc.)'.
are not necessarily the same hypothetical person.

At one extreme ('Can anyone') you're including my granddad who has rheumatism, is half-blind, and has difficulty understanding and remembering the rules to noughts and crosses.
At the other extreme you have the hypothetical person who has the talent to naturally already have fulfilled 'Provided they have all the knowledge they require (like X-Cross, Advanced F2L Techniques, OLL, PLL, CLL, VHLS, some ZBLL, etc.)'.

Who exactly are you talking about?
 

Forcefulness

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The groups:
'Can anyone', 'average cuber', 'Provided they have all the knowledge they require (like X-Cross, Advanced F2L Techniques, OLL, PLL, CLL, VHLS, some ZBLL, etc.)'.
are not necessarily the same hypothetical person.

At one extreme ('Can anyone') you're including my granddad who has rheumatism, is half-blind, and has difficulty understanding and remembering the rules to noughts and crosses.
At the other extreme you have the hypothetical person who has the talent to naturally already have fulfilled 'Provided they have all the knowledge they require (like X-Cross, Advanced F2L Techniques, OLL, PLL, CLL, VHLS, some ZBLL, etc.)'.

Who exactly are you talking about?

Does the average person have the ability to learn and develop the necessary skills to be sub-10
 

rubikmaster

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The groups:
'Can anyone', 'average cuber', 'Provided they have all the knowledge they require (like X-Cross, Advanced F2L Techniques, OLL, PLL, CLL, VHLS, some ZBLL, etc.)'.
are not necessarily the same hypothetical person.

At one extreme ('Can anyone') you're including my granddad who has rheumatism, is half-blind, and has difficulty understanding and remembering the rules to noughts and crosses.
At the other extreme you have the hypothetical person who has the talent to naturally already have fulfilled 'Provided they have all the knowledge they require (like X-Cross, Advanced F2L Techniques, OLL, PLL, CLL, VHLS, some ZBLL, etc.)'.

Who exactly are you talking about?

Yeah, I guess I should've cleared that up. Implying that this average person already has all the knowledge required to achieve sub-10 times, would most people be able to achieve sub-10 one day?
 

RicardoRix

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Well that's far from the average person, or possibly even the average speed cuber's knowledge (like X-Cross, Advanced F2L Techniques, OLL, PLL, CLL, VHLS, some ZBLL, etc.)
..and the inclination to try and achieve sub-10 (I'm guessing that part is implied).

So you're asking if a person can move their fingers fast enough and apply the knowledge sufficiently without pauses.

A question that I ask myself, is that if I already know the solution and practice it, can I be sub-10?
The answer is no, my fingers just don't move fast enough.
Sub-15 perhaps - on a good day.
 

Isaac Lai

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By average person, he or she must have:

-interest
-practice time
-the will to practice
-the will to learn algorithms

Tps is gained over time. Obviously, new cubers and older-aged people won't be able to turn as fast as experienced cubers. But my point is that everyone starts out as an average cuber. It's just that most people get discouraged somewhere along the way and give up.
 

dboeren

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It's an interesting question, but it assumes that you got a large amount of memorization for free and have plenty of practice time. I'm more interesting in knowing how fast you can be if you have limited time per day to study/practice and maybe a couple years to do it in. That to me would be a more practical scenario :)
 

Smiles

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I'm sub-12 without really trying, I've just been cubing a long time.
And it's no plateau, I'm still improving.
I don't even set my tensions properly or use lube anymore lol.

So I voted for sub-13 which is a generous vote. Most people can definitely get lower than that if they really tried.
 

thelunarbros

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I really wanted to start going faster when I was at sub 20. I personally think that was about the time where most of us start to push ourselves to go further.

A cuber who puts in about 1 hour a day can definitely make it to sub 10, because they constantly practise. If its less than around 20 minutes a day they could be losing interest in cubing, and at some point stop. So it really depends on how much you care about cubing. Sub-15 is where I'm willing to vote for.
 

tseitsei

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Yeah. Anyone (with normally functioning brain and hands) can get to sub-10 if they want it enough. Obviously it's much easier for some individuals than for others but I think it's possible for everyone.

If you use CFOP the TPS needed for sub-10 is around 6. That is quite easily achievable. Real problem is look-ahead and having 0 pauses. That is what takes those countless of hours of practise to develop.

And if you REALLY can't achieve 6 TPS then you could always use Roux. Then you would only need ~5TPS for sub-10.


Note that while it is possible (IMO) for everyone it would take insane amounts of practise for some. But think about it. If someone practises 2 hours a day every single day for 10 years that makes 10*365*2 = awesomely many hours of practise.
 
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