Explain cubing topics as if you were talking to a non-cuber

[Etotheipi]

Next: Why do you have to memorize the cube before putting on the blindfold?

Because cubers aren't anymore psychic than your average person, we can't feel colors.

Next: Why don't you just use a Rubik's brand, they're much better than your rip-off cube.

 

[GAN 356 X]

Because cubers aren't anymore psychic than your average person, we can't feel colors.

Next: Why don't you just use a Rubik's brand, they're much better than your rip-off cube.

This is how I would honestly explain this:


Rubiks Brand are absolutely s***

Explain why other random events like mirror block aren't events

 

[Etotheipi]

This is how I would honestly explain this:


Rubiks Brand are absolutely s***

Explain why other random events like mirror block aren't events

Language.

There aren't those other events because the WCA is dumb it's to much of a hassle to have like 50 events, and to have mirror blocks, ghost cube, etc. would be boring because those are just 3x3 but more annoying to solve.

Next: iS ThAT A 10x10?!?

 

[Matt11111]

Language.

There aren't those other events because the WCA is dumb it's to much of a hassle to have like 50 events, and to have mirror blocks, ghost cube, etc. would be boring because those are just 3x3 but more annoying to solve.

Next: iS ThAT A 10x10?!?

Nope, it's a 9x9

But like honestly with really big cubes I wouldn't blame people for not wanting to get real close and count the layers

Next: How do your hands even move that fast?

 

[ProStar]

Nope, it's a 9x9

But like honestly with really big cubes I wouldn't blame people for not wanting to get real close and count the layers

Next: How do your hands even move that fast?

Cause I'm a superhuman.

Next: CoOl! A foUr CubE!

 

[White KB]

I guess it's not the worst kind of cheating in the world. It's kinda like how some people will modify video games or use overpowered features just for the fun of it in single player experiences. Personally I love bumping up players' attributes to the maximum level in sports games to see what crazy numbers you can put up in a season with them. So just peeling the stickers off and having a solved cube is sort of like that kind of cheating.

But then saying you solved the Rubik's Cube when you really just rearranged the stickers is like going online in Mario Kart with an infinite blue shell or bullet mod enabled. The same way you don't improve as a player by enabling those mods (even if your rating would say otherwise), you aren't exhibiting any sort of skill when you do that with a cube. One time I went to a concert at my school, and before it started I was solving my 7x7. Once I was done, a guy behind me said "Our daughter just solved her first Rubik's Cube." And then he proceeded to say they actually peeled off the stickers. Conglaturation, you did nothing. This conversation is over. That's probably one of my biggest pet peeves, people who act like they accomplished something when the "solution" they came up with really isn't that clever at all.

Next: Why do you have to memorize the cube before putting on the blindfold?

Well , [Timmy I don't know why you think you're going to be a cuber if you don't even know this. *sigh*] you have to memorize it because you can't see it through a blindfold.

*Not even if it's a thin blindfold?*
You have to have a thick one.
*Oh.*

So you can't see through it, so you have to memorize it before.
Next: Cube theory (Even I don't know this, so it'll be tough)

 

[White KB]

Cause I'm a superhuman.

Next: CoOl! A foUr CubE!

Ack. I got them out of order!
Oh well...

A four cube is actually a 2x2 , my dear friend. See, it has two layers. Whoa.
Cube theory is next (I'll try better not to mix it up this time.)

 

[ProStar]

Ack. I got them out of order!
Oh well...

A four cube is actually a 2x2 , my dear friend. See, it has two layers. Whoa.
Cube theory is next (I'll try better not to mix it up this time.)

4 Diemensions - 1 because there is no 4th dimension = 43 + quintillion = 43 quintillion.

ez

Next: You'Re chEaTinG!

 

[GAN 356 X]

4 Diemensions - 1 because there is no 4th dimension = 43 + quintillion = 43 quintillion.

ez

Next: You'Re chEaTinG!

A corner twist is an unsolvable case jimmy

Next person:

Woah you must be good at math!

 

[White KB]

Oh well, you caught me doing a corner twist so the cube could be solvable.
(Judge writes down "DNF" on scorecard)
Hey that wasn't against the--

 

[White KB]

Well yes, I--
Shows paper in imagination land:
pi=(22–√9801∑k=0∞(4k)!(1103+26390k)(k!)43964k)−1

Shows paper in reality land:
2+2=ERROR: BEYOND THE LAWS of PHYSICS!
Unknown!

Next: Why Square-1 is solvable

 

[Tabe]

Since a rubiks cube has a lot of pieces, it has a bunch of ways it can be arranged. If you were to just turn the sides, it would be impossible to solve it by random, as it would take about 1.3 trillion years, which is much too long. It's also not cheating because even if I know how to solve it, I have to do different things every time. I only learned the steps, not a bunch of turns you can do over and over to solve it automatically.

Next: Why peeling the stickers off is cheating

My answer would be more like: "you know how you sometimes have to memorize formulas for math tests and then use them on a test? It's similar with solving."

 

[Cubinwitdapizza]

Well yes, I--
Shows paper in imagination land:
pi=(22–√9801∑k=0∞(4k)!(1103+26390k)(k!)43964k)−1

Shows paper in reality land:
2+2=ERROR: BEYOND THE LAWS of PHYSICS!
Unknown!

Next: Why Square-1 is solvable

Well jimmy, um, people wouldnt have made it if it wasn’t possible. Also e ^ I pi=1

next: how is parity?

 

[Etotheipi]

e ^ I pi=1

No, e^iπ=-1 =P

 

[Etotheipi]

Well jimmy, um, people wouldnt have made it if it wasn’t possible. Also e ^ I pi=1

next: how is parity?

Parity is doing quite well, he didn't sleep that well last night, but some coffee woke him right up.

Next: why "I solved all of it except one sticker was wrong" is impossible.

 

[xyzzy]

Well, you see Jimmy, parity happens because as you're twisting and twisting the cube, say a 4x4, and what happens is you start solving the outer pieces. Why you get parity, little Jimmy, is because there are internal pieces that make up for it. For example, on a 3x3 we have a thing called the "H" permutation which takes all the edges on one layer (not "side") and moves them around 180 degrees. In fact, what's actually happening is the algorithm is switching two pairs of two edges each, making four pieces you move around. On a 4x4, parity is the same, except one of the pairs of "edges" is visible and one isn't. Therefore, Jimmy, you should understand fully why parity happens on a 4x4, 6x6, 8x8, etc. OK?

(I'm not sure what this thread is supposed to be about.) While this type of explanation of parity is very common—something along the lines of "you can't just swap two things, therefore parity must be caused by swapping hidden/invisible/imaginary/ethereal pieces"—it's also wrong. It's a fake explanation, where one strings together some keywords and hopes the result looks like it makes sense.

Spoiler: off topic, I guess, but this has to be said

The real answer doesn't involve internal pieces or the like. It's just as simple as observing that you can get a 2-cycle of edge pieces by doing a 2R slice move, then using 3-cycle comms to fix most of the shifted centres and edges. Therefore you can swap two edge pieces. Therefore you can get OLL parity, which can be seen as swapping two edge pieces within the same edge pair. In fact, by repeating this as many times as needed, with setup moves, you can get any permutation of edge pieces, so this also explains PLL parity (note that swapping the UF and UB edge pairs is equivalent to a pair of swaps: UFl with UBr and UFr with UBl).

(In fact, rather than asking why big cubes have parity, consider the opposite question: why doesn't the 3×3×3, the original Rubik's Cube, have parity? But wait, what do BLDers mean when they say "parity"? So does it actually have parity? What if the term "parity" actually encompasses a wide range of situations that can happen on twisty puzzles? Have a think about that.)

 

[Cubinwitdapizza]

(I'm not sure what this thread is supposed to be about.) While this type of explanation of parity is very common—something along the lines of "you can't just swap two things, therefore parity must be caused by swapping hidden/invisible/imaginary/ethereal pieces"—it's also wrong. It's a fake explanation, where one strings together some keywords and hopes the result looks like it makes sense.

The real answer doesn't involve internal pieces or the like. It's just as simple as observing that you can get a 2-cycle of edge pieces by doing a 2R slice move, then using 3-cycle comms to fix most of the shifted centres and edges. Therefore you can swap two edge pieces. Therefore you can get OLL parity, which can be seen as swapping two edge pieces within the same edge pair. In fact, by repeating this as many times as needed, with setup moves, you can get any permutation of edge pieces, so this also explains PLL parity (note that swapping the UF and UB edge pairs is equivalent to a pair of swaps: UFl with UBr and UFr with UBl).

(In fact, rather than asking why big cubes have parity, consider the opposite question: why doesn't the 3×3×3, the original Rubik's Cube, have parity? But wait, what do BLDers mean when they say "parity"? So does it actually have parity? What if the term "parity" actually encompasses a wide range of situations that can happen on twisty puzzles? Have a think about that.)

Lol this thread is supposed to be a dumbed down version of explaining things.

 

[ProStar]

Next: why "I solved all of it except one sticker was wrong" is impossible.

Because you only own stickerless cubes.

Next: Why your friend is lying when he says he solved it in 2 seconds

 

[Etotheipi]

Because you only own stickerless cubes.

Next: Why your friend is lying when he says he solved it in 2 seconds

Because the world record is 3.47 seconds. Maybe if you watched your friend solve but you have no time perception, it might seem like 2 seconds, which could happen if you go near a black hole I guess.

Next: What is EO? (In a more general way, like, what it means for an edge to be oriented, not "when you have a yellow cross on top after F2L")

 

[Hazel]

EO, or Edge Orientation, essentially describes how a particular edge piece (the one between two adjacent corners) is positioned. We call it "oriented" when it can be solved using only a specific set of turns, and "unoriented" or when it cannot be solved using that specific set of turns. Generally speaking, the more correctly-oriented edges, the better.

Next: How are you able to memorize so many algorithms?!