Are hand scrambles reliable?

[Cheese11]

Hey everyone.

I'm making this thread to discuss whether a hand scramble is just as reliable as a computer generated scramble.

I've done test's where I've done an average of 50 with computer scrambles and then an average of 50 with hand scrambles, and the average times of the computer generated ones were faster than the hand scrambles. I would also like to say that when I'm hand scrambling I'm not actually thinking about the moves I'm doing, and 3 times I ended up with the exact same scramble. Would this be related to muscle memory and the way our fingers move?

EDIT: Maybe the title isn't what it should be.. could a moderator change it to "Are Hand Scrambles Reliable?"

Thanks,
Eric Kulchycki

 

[bluecloe45]

Hey everyone.

I'm making this thread to discuss whether a hand scramble is just as reliable as a computer generated scramble.

I've done test's where I've done an average of 50 with computer scrambles and then an average of 50 with hand scrambles, and the average times of the computer generated ones were faster than the hand scrambles. I would also like to say that when I'm hand scrambling I'm not actually thinking about the moves I'm doing, and 3 times I ended up with the exact same scramble. Would this be related to muscle memory and the way our fingers move?

EDIT: Maybe the title isn't what it should be.. could a moderator change it to "Are Hand Scrambles Reliable?"

Thanks,
Eric Kulchycki

Yes, I do believe this is related to muscle memory, I have a cubing friend that sometimes scrambles the same way every time without paying attention.

 

[KukuhTrisna]

Its musle memory? yes !, try to do B2 or D2 or move that you hardly to do it like M2 or S2 (or sometimes Rw)
Sorry for bad english

 

[Dene]

Whenever I hand scramble I make sure to throw in the odd weird move to make sure I'm not just repeating the same scramble over and over.

I think in general, at least as far as bigcubes are concerned, whenever I scramble by hand I try to separate matching colours (for centres), therefore I avoid the occasional nice computer generated scramble that pops up from time to time. So I guess overall hand scrambles would be "more mixed up", but I doubt there would be a noticeable difference in times.

 

[Hunter]

Do you have the final times for your two averages of 50?

 

[sneaklyfox]

I think it's different from person to person. I know muscle memory affects me somewhat because without thinking I tend to start scrambling with the same moves but I'm consciously throwing in weird moves and turning the cube in unusual ways than what feels normal to me. The scramble is usually longer than the computer generated one too (longer in length but not necessarily in time because it's faster.) I would think my hand scrambles are fairly reliable.

 

[Yuxuibbs]

I used to get the same scrambles when I hand scrambled but now I throw in random cube rotations in the middle of scrambling and I never got the same scramble so far. I also make sure I try to separate the colors that are the same.

 

[Ranzha]

I tested this with averages of 100 a couple years ago. There wasn't a huge difference, but then again, that was a couple years ago.
These days, if I hand scramble, I throw the cube in the air and catch it so that I have a "random" orientation. Seems fair imo.

 

[Ickenicke]

It's not reliable. At least not for me.

 

[applemobile]

I got faster once I started using computer scrambles. When hand scrambling, if it looked to easy I would re scramble it so I wasnt cheating my myself. With computer scrambles you get what you are given and end up with some nice easy ones.

 

[TMOY]

I think in general, at least as far as bigcubes are concerned, whenever I scramble by hand I try to separate matching colours (for centres), therefore I avoid the occasional nice computer generated scramble that pops up from time to time. So I guess overall hand scrambles would be "more mixed up", but I doubt there would be a noticeable difference in times.

A solution to that problem is to actively separate colors during, say, two thirds of the scramble, then do the last third without paying attention to what happens on the cube. That way, you will still get the nice scrambles, and they will show up because of luck, not because of bad scrambling.

Personnally, when I started in the early 80s, there were no computer-generated scrambles yet (and we didn't have any computer at home anyway), so I had no choice but to learn how to handscramble properly. That's why I'm still handscrambling most of the time, and I have never noticed any difference in times with computer-generated scrambles.

 

[bobthegiraffemonkey]

I don't think I hand scramble well, and sometimes it looks way too easy and I scramble further.

Fun fact: Recently at a comp I hand scrambled 2 adjacent faces of a megaminx (not 2-gen, I wanted to misorient some edges too) while chatting to someone. When I looked down after a while all the edges were solved. Kinda freaked me out.

 

[ThtDarnNeighbor]

These days, if I hand scramble, I throw the cube in the air and catch it so that I have a "random" orientation. Seems fair imo.

damn i needa try that
i just do a rotation randomly

 

[samchoochiu]

I do hand scrambles for 6x6 and 7x7. I'd rather focus on getting faster than wasting my time doing the scrambles.
2x2-5x5 I do real scrambles because I would not know when I should stop hand scrambling

 

[qqwref]

Hand scrambles are generally okay, but if you want to be really serious about something you'd be better off using computer ones. It honestly doesn't take much longer, especially if you tend to do a lot of moves when handscrambling.

 

[CarlBrannen]

I think it's easier for beginners to make random hand scrambles because they have less muscle memory. That is, the algorithms you learn are ones that leave the cube relatively unchanged.

But as a beginner, I think the computer scrambles are a good time to practice correct execution of moves. That is, you should be concentrating on how you hold the cube and which finger you choose to execute each move with.

 

[MirzaCubing]

If I ever hand scramble and do the same one twice I either figure out a way to improve the last solve or I choose a different cross color and just have fun with it

 

[Kirjava]

For me, computer scrambles are quicker and give a better case distibution.

 

[Godmil]

I frequently do the same hand scrambles twice in a row (even when it's like 40 moves) it's just too easy to slip into patterns. Also I never count a hand scramble as a PB, but I'd be very happy to get a computer scramble with a super easy cross or something like that (but that would feel like cheating to me if I hand scrambled an easy cross).
I also find computer scrambles to be quicker, and I'm just more satisfied with the fairness of the result.

 

[kinch2002]

5x5 and up I would never computer scramble at home because hand scrambling is much more relaxing. I kind of do what Francois says - scramble while looking for a while to separate colours and scramble for a while more without looking. If I get a pb on 7x7 was it really because I had one extra white piece connected? Of course not - it was just a good solve, probably with some nice cases during it, which depend so little whether the scramble was hand or computer that it's not even worth considering.