Why does nobody make a 44 degree turn before they start?

dfhf289

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Jan 14, 2011
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If you are not allowed to move the cube during inspection, and a move is over 45 degrees, why doesn't everyone make the first move only 44 degrees?
 
I thought about that... but what if the judge calls you out for cheating? even if it's within limits someone could call that out.

I think a 44 degree turn before starting the timer could cause a distraction in my first actions of picking up the cube and turning it... also... 1 turn takes how long?
 
If you are not allowed to move the cube during inspection, and a move is over 45 degrees, why doesn't everyone make the first move only 44 degrees?

because 46 degree turns may be harder to do? As it seems rather pointless as you would still have to finish the first move.(probably wouldn't take off that much time... maybe you should work on your pick up and put down?)
 
you dont do 44 degree turns because thats retarded. also, it would give the judge a reason to DNF your solve for turning beyond 44 degrees. every judge has built in protractor contact lenses with magnification, just in case you decide to cheat or slip up.
retarded.
 
You could do that, but then you would get a DNF
A3c2) If the pieces of the puzzle are not fully aligned, then the competitor may fix it, only to align the faces (for cubes the alignment must not exceed 45 degrees).

If you make an alignment on your cube worse than it was before, but still under 45 degrees, then you have not aligned the puzzle to fix it. As this is the only allowable reason for rotating the puzzle to any degree, then it should be a DNF solve if you do this.
 
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You could do that, but then you would get a DNF


If you make an alignment on your cube worse than it was before, but still under 45 degrees, then you have not aligned the puzzle to fix it. As this is the only allowable reason for rotating the puzzle to any degree, then it should be a DNF solve if you do this.

But there isn't a rule against moving the puzzle. There is only a rule against TURNING the puzzle.
A3c1) The competitor must not apply moves. Penalty: disqualification of the solve.
According to the regulation, a move is a 90 degree turn of a face (for 3x3 obviously). The regs also state that a misalignment less than 45 degrees is not considered to be a move either, so offsetting the puzzle 44 degrees should technically be allowed during inspection.
 
I actually don't think doing this would save any time at all. For me, turning the cube 46 degrees wouldn't be any faster than turning it 90 degrees, and would mean my cube would be much more likely to overshoot. Also, if you did this at competitions, you might still be told not to, or someone would have to check the regulations, which I don't think would be worth it.
 
When holding the cube normally, it is much easier for me to move any side from when it is aligned rather than turned at an angle of 44deg.
 
Because it is a stupid idea and (possibly) an abuse of the regulations as they currently stand (I will leave that open for discussion) and something which would only require a very quick addition to the regulations to fix.
 
But there isn't a rule against moving the puzzle. There is only a rule against TURNING the puzzle.

I still feel that this rule defines when turning of a puzzle is allowed and when it is not:
A3c2) If the pieces of the puzzle are not fully aligned, then the competitor may fix it, only to align the faces (for cubes the alignment must not exceed 45 degrees).

Now we can take the structure of that sentence and break it down by what it's actually saying.

"If the pieces of the puzzle are not fully aligned..."

Fully aligned means that the degree of rotation between any adjacent layers is zero degrees. All sides are flush with each other.

"then the competitor may fix* it, only to align the faces (for cubes the alignment must not exceed 45 degrees)."

This last part states that, if the cube is not fully aligned, then the competitor has permission, but is not obligated, to realign the faces as long as the fixing* realignment turn done does not exceed 45 degrees.

I don't see how this allows you to take a cube whose faces are in alignment and perform a less than 45 degree turn (not a move) when no permission is given to fix* the alignment. In this situation that competitor does not have permission to fix* the alignment by performing a less than 45 degree turn. According to the regulations, this solve should be a DNF.

* This all hinges on the undefined word "fix" in the original rule. Does fix mean to restore to a zero degree misalignment for all faces, or to restore to the cuber's preference? I do agree that this issue needs to be strengthened, as I think having people start nearly 45 degrees off on every solve is not in the spirit of the rules, even if it may currently be to the letter, depending on the definition of the verb "fix" in the rule A3c2. Despite there being some ambiguity here the delegate can still DNF the solve by:
11d) If the WCA regulations are not fully clear or if the incident is not covered by the WCA regulations, then the main judge must make his decision based on fair sportsmanship, after consulting the WCA delegate.

So if this happened in a competition where I was the delegate, then I would officially DNF the solve by rule 11d, using it to strengthen the wording of rule A3c2.

According to the regulation, a move is a 90 degree turn of a face (for 3x3 obviously). The regs also state that a misalignment less than 45 degrees is not considered to be a move either, so offsetting the puzzle 44 degrees should technically be allowed during inspection.

I don't see how the rules permit this as per my explanation above. Please elaborate.
 
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