Blind Solving (no... *actual* blind solving...)

[Trix]

(Please note: this deals with blind individuals solving cube puzzles... not "blind solving" by looking at a cube and then blindfolding themselves before solving it.)

I'm not sure if this is the proper forum to ask, but here goes....

After picking up cubing as an adult (I'm mediocre, but enthusiastic... still perfecting F2L and OLL), I thought my seven-year old nephew would love such a challenge, but due to significant vision impairment issues (achromatopsia), he would be unable to distinguish the different colored sides of the cube. After speaking with a Rubik's company representative, they sent me a Touch Cube to give to him. (The braille-like tiled one... not the electronic touch-screen one.) With almost no instruction beyond the basic solve technique, he has now officially blown my fastest time out of the water by over 30 seconds, and seems to be figuring out a modified F2L simply through intuition. Simply crazy...

Then his parents casually mentioned he also enjoys solving the cube in the dark, using only the braille-like tiles to discern the colors.

Does anyone know of any communities or groups of actual blind individuals who enjoy cubing? Or does anyone know of any records set by blind individuals that we could use as an inspirational benchmark?

He clearly has a natural skill at solving puzzles like this, and I'd like to encourage it further. I'd enjoy finding others who push through similar challenges to hear about their experiences.

 

[Meneghetti]

Cool!
Here in Brazil there's a blind guy called Fabio Borges Dias that also enjoys cubing. He has already been to one official competition:

Here's his WCA profile

I heard he never bothers to AUF, so he gets +2 most of the times.

 

[bcube]

There was some debate regarding blind solvers attending the competitions in the past. Don't really know how it turned out.
Anyway, maybe you might find it interesting: https://www.speedsolving.com/forum/...fficial-competition-for-braille-people.22957/

 

[SenorJuan]

As you're wanting to encourage puzzle-solving as an activity, you may like to know about 'mirror-blocks' cubes, which can be solved by touch alone:
Example:
http://cubezz.com/Buy-4628-Mir-two+2x2x2+Mirror+Block+Magic+Cube+Silver.html
http://cubezz.com/Buy-3868-ShengShou+Brushed+Silver+Mirror+Magic+Cube+Black.html

Sebastian Hafner is skilled at these puzzles, and has sub-60 second 'unsighted' solves on the 3x3x3 mirror-blocks.
Video:

 

[Umm Roux?]

Cool!
Here in Brazil there's a blind guy called Fabio Borges Dias that also enjoys cubing. He has already been to one official competition:

Here's his WCA profile

I heard he never bothers to AUF, so he gets +2 most of the times.

Wow, that guy is amazing! Would it be easier to use blind solving methods because there is less feeling around during the solving stages?

 

[Matt11111]

What if a sighted person went to a competition but closed their eyes or blindfolded themselves and solved with a braille cube?

 

[wir3sandfir3s]

What if a sighted person went to a competition but closed their eyes or blindfolded themselves and solved with a braille cube?

Lol make this an official thing

 

[Umm Roux?]

What if a sighted person went to a competition but closed their eyes or blindfolded themselves and solved with a braille cube?

So, each side would be a letter or a number... Interesting

 

[shadowslice e]

What if a sighted person went to a competition but closed their eyes or blindfolded themselves and solved with a braille cube?

I'm pretty sure that violates this regulation:
A1c) A competitor participating in an event must be able to fulfil the event's requirements (e.g. know how to solve the puzzle). A competitor must not compete with expectation of a DNF result or an intentionally poor result. Penalty: disqualification of the attempt (DNF) or disqualification from the event (see Regulation 2j), at the discretion of the WCA Delegate.
This one also seems to be violated by this idea: Puzzles must be clean, and must not have any markings, elevated pieces, damage, or other differences that significantly distinguish any piece from a similar piece. Exception: a logo (see Regulation 3l).
However, these two:
3d1) For competitors with a medically documented visual disability, the following exceptions apply:

• 3d1a) Blind competitors may use textured puzzles with different textures on different faces. Each face should have a distinct colour, to aid in scrambling and judging.
• 3d1b) Colour blind competitors who cannot distinguish between the necessary number of colours may use coloured parts with patterns, if it has been explicitly approved according to Regulation 2s. Patterns may come from stickers or be drawn.

these regulations allow exceptions for visual impairments.