Are your times faster while people are watching or not?

[teller]

There are two things wrong that can happen in front of people:

1) You're self conscious because you must live up to some expectation

2) You're self conscious because they are watching

Netiher 1) nor 2) has anything to do with speedsolving. Both are distractions that must be mastered, and both are rooted in a preoccupation with some sort of painting of yourself that you're presenting to others. I'm not saying there's something wrong with you if you screw up more in front of people (I do), I'm just saying that every time this happens it is a profound opportunity to polish your spirit. If you can beat this, it will be one of those enormous gifts from the cube that will pay dividends across the board in all areas of your life, for the rest of your life. And they say cubing has no value...pffft...

 

[chahupping]

100% slower than normal, thats why i usually tell people i solve under 40secs when my average is 25..

 

[Edward]

I think ive gotten over it.
Did an OH average of 3 in front of my old friends from football, and got 1:01~ 1:02~, and 1:10~.
I average about 1:16~ usually.

 

[rubiknewbie]

No freaking way! Of course slower than normal. I forget the simplest of algorithms in front of people.

When people watch, you tend to become afraid of mistakes and think of your execution. Once you started thinking about your execution, you are GONE. It must flow naturally.

The only exception is when I want to impress and push harder.

 

[Sa967St]

I only get really good times when no one is watching me :/

 

[LNZ]

I only get really fast times when alone and with the radio and TV off. I get distracted alot when the TV and radio is on and can only solve cubes and other puzzles for fun in this way.

 

[Chuck]

It depends on the event. In blindfolded solving I tend to do better in competition, so under pressure and with people watching me. However, for speedsolving I usually do better at home with no pressure. This isn't always the case for me, but it tends to be a good rule of thumb.

I second that.

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we have a local cubing gathering at shopping malls. At first, I DNF'ed a lot on my BLD solves when people are watching me.

After 3 months of such frequent gatherings, I'm way faster when people are watching me. I got a lot of sub-2 minutes BLD and sup-10 multi BLD. I get used to noise, distraction, and tension, and actually I like it.

 

[trying-to-speedcube...]

I got my 11.02 competition PB when a lot of friends were watching The rest was sup-15 xD

 

[Chuck]

I got my 11.02 competition PB when a lot of friends were watching

And he can haz 5x5x5 BLD in a comp xD

 

[driftboy_wen]

usually it makes me faster when ppl looking at me.

 

[Mr Cubism]

When people watch, you tend to become afraid of mistakes and think of your execution. Once you started thinking about your execution, you are GONE. It must flow naturally.

That is so true. And thats why I think training solves in front of people can make you mentally stronger/more relaxed, not only in cubing, but also in other situations with when people expect performance from you.

 

[Thomas09]

Yes and no. I usually do bad in front of people but at the Sydney meetup, I cut like a minute of my best time on the 5x5.

 

[AvGalen]

I only solve in front of other people. Why would you sit somewhere, all alone and play with a cube?

 

[Tim Major]

Yes and no. I usually do bad in front of people but at the Sydney meetup, I cut like a minute of my best time on the 5x5.

And POP

 

[Lt-UnReaL]

I do better at 5x5 in competition all the time, but I do worse in everything else.

 

[Meep]

When I'm in front of people it's not that I get slower but I seem to get more inconsistent; I sometimes get really good solves and sometimes really bad ones =(

 

[Muesli]

I had an explosive POP last time I cubed infront of people. Pieces everywhere.

Other than that, I often get about the same if not a little worse.

 

[trying-to-speedcube...]

I got my 11.02 competition PB when a lot of friends were watching

And he can haz 5x5x5 BLD in a comp xD

But during my 5x5BLD I myself didn't even watch, and I didn't know others were watching, so that's why it was so slow

 

[cmhardw]

I only solve in front of other people. Why would you sit somewhere, all alone and play with a cube?

Arnaud, I definitely understand what you mean here, and I do think it's healthier to cube in a more social way not only for yourself but for your cubing ability. However, I think practice by oneself can be very productive as long as you keep a good balance. It's sort of like playing a musical instrument. If you always do recitals in front of people you never really improve much. Occasionally you just need to go to a practice room for an hour and practice where nobody can hear you so you can try new things, or work on things that need the most practice.

I think cubing practice can be a very antisocial activity in general (especially BLD cubing!). If you want to improve you must practice lots, but your practice must be productive. In order to be productive you should cube where you can focus well, but this leads to not focusing on other people nearby. It's hard to find a good balance for this I think. Cubing can be fun too, but trying to get faster I think takes work by sometimes cubing alone, in addition to cubing in front of people (which is not only more fun, but also improves your ability to control your nerves).

[/blabbering]

Chris

 

[Mike Hughey]

I only solve in front of other people. Why would you sit somewhere, all alone and play with a cube?

Arnaud, I definitely understand what you mean here, and I do think it's healthier to cube in a more social way not only for yourself but for your cubing ability. However, I think practice by oneself can be very productive as long as you keep a good balance. It's sort of like playing a musical instrument. If you always do recitals in front of people you never really improve much. Occasionally you just need to go to a practice room for an hour and practice where nobody can hear you so you can try new things, or work on things that need the most practice.

I think cubing practice can be a very antisocial activity in general (especially BLD cubing!). If you want to improve you must practice lots, but your practice must be productive. In order to be productive you should cube where you can focus well, but this leads to not focusing on other people nearby. It's hard to find a good balance for this I think. Cubing can be fun too, but trying to get faster I think takes work by sometimes cubing alone, in addition to cubing in front of people (which is not only more fun, but also improves your ability to control your nerves).

[/blabbering]

Chris

Actually, I was wondering who sits up with Arnaud when he does his 7 practice solves plus 5 solves of everything for the weekly competition all in one night? Arnaud, that is how you said you do it, right? I would think that could make your companion very bored.

And I generally seem to solve faster in front of others, when BLD solving or speedsolving. Noise can sometimes distract me for BLD (especially multiBLD), but if that's not a factor, I go faster when others are watching, definitely.