Color Neutrality

[Zarxrax]

I'd be interested in hearing from someone who is fully color neutral, does 15 second inspection time REALLY give you enough time to actually look at all of the possible crosses and choose the best one? It seems like it would be difficult to really examine all of them in that short time.

 

[ZamHalen]

I meant it costs me 3 seconds.I wasn't saying this was how it was for everyone. The problem I have is the habit of working with the most simple cross and get distracted while solving a fixed color.
EDIT:I usually figure out the cross before the inspection timer hits 8-6 seconds.

 

[Toad]

I'd be interested in hearing from someone who is fully color neutral, does 15 second inspection time REALLY give you enough time to actually look at all of the possible crosses and choose the best one? It seems like it would be difficult to really examine all of them in that short time.

It seems to work for Feliks...

He said before (can't be bothered to find quote) that he just looks for the cross with the most edges on the correct face or opposite face as they're always easy to solve...

 

[joey]

I'd be interested in hearing from someone who is fully color neutral, does 15 second inspection time REALLY give you enough time to actually look at all of the possible crosses and choose the best one? It seems like it would be difficult to really examine all of them in that short time.

You don't work out the moves for each cross. Just a quick scan to look for nice cases, and then use the rest of the time to plan.

 

[Forte]

I'd say that being colour neutral only has real advantages when you have a really good cross or xcross where you can look ahead for pairs really easily.

Movecount is meh

 

[liljthedude]

Being CN can give you an easier cross, therefore more time for F2L lookahead before starting the solve. Fast F2L=fast solve (usually)

 

[dillonbladez]

Dual cross FTW
But there have been times when i've gotten shitty cross cases on both D:<

 

[teller]

Dual cross FTW
But there have been times when i've gotten shitty cross cases on both D:<

Imagine if you had 4 more choices remaining.

Dual cross is actually a very good compromise. Speaking as someone making the transition from fixed to neutral, the opposite color is much easier to learn than the others and the benefit is immediate.

 

[denhil3]

I'm now practicing colour neutral. But it's kinda hard to look ahead.

 

[Anthony]

Being CN can give you an easier cross, therefore more time for F2L lookahead before starting the solve. Fast F2L=fast solve (usually)

Think about that for a second...

Spoiler

Not really. If there is a very easy cross, then yes, it may be easier to plan out the first pair during inspection. However, you will not necessarily have "more time for F2L lookahead before starting the solve" because you do not have awesome crosses most of the time as many people seem to think. Therefore, you may spend more time looking for a good cross and planning it out than simply sticking to a fixed cross color.

 

[ZamHalen]

It's really preference on color neutral or fixed cross. You should just choose what you feel comfortable with.

 

[mcciff2112]

I'm not racist, I treat all colors equally

 

[Dene]

CN IS POWA.

 

[oprah62]

It could be great for fridrich but your f2l look ahead and recognition could fail. I definetly suggest learning it for 2x2.

 

[jackdexter75]

I'd say.. It's good for you to use if you think you can handle it. =) At first it kind of screws you up 'cause you aren't used to it. But it seems to have advantages and also it may have disadvantages.

 

[Erdos]

Dual cross seems to be a good compromise. That way, you won't spend too much time looking for the optimal cross (although, I don't think this is a problem for expert cubers) and you have more time to plan out your cross moves and your F2L.

Nobody can really tell how much you'll improve by being color neutral versus spending your time doing something else, which may help your times out a lot more.