How to memorize a 3x3x3 in under 1:15...

[pjk]

How can this be done? What tips do you have for memorizing? Do you create a picture in your mind, or just remember the numbers? Thanks

 

[Johannes91]

Just use any method you like. I memorize everything visually, but if EP is too hard I use numbers. I can almost always memorize in 1:00-1:30 minutes. What tips do I have? Well, practice...

 

[dbeyer]

Memorizing in less than 75 seconds is easy if you force yourself to memorize the cube in 60 seconds and go at it anyway. After a while, you'll get tired of DNFs, you'll "slow down" then you'll prolly start cranking out BLDs w/ 75s memo. This applies for any time regulation. Just practice. With focusing on corners I got memo sub30. That paid off, then I focused on BLDing w/o confidence (Memo was like a 90-120s breather and I was cubing again.) I went through one day, I did 20+ BLD attempts, all failures. Since then, I've had like one DNF, and I cut my PB down nearly 2 minutes, it went from 5:27.56 - 3:32.94 that was insane. Note: This is all within the last week, so it's not like I did 20 DNFs and I've DNFd once in the last 2 years. It's relevantly recent.


But just see where you're at, work on your method in all ways you think you can improve. Work on the images with cards. Speedcube w/ the method. Do a Corners only method. Try switching up the memorization phases. I used to perfect edge memo, then memo corners, and refresh edges.

Now I run once through my corners, making all decisions for cycles, then perfect edge memo, and refresh corners. I solve my edges, then I solve my corners. This alone has cut about a minute off my times!

 

[pjk]

Thanks, I'll work on that. How do you work on learning setup moves for CP and EP? That seems really hard to me.

 

[cmhardw]

Hey Patrick,

I have to backup Daniel here in that I also recommend going REALLY fast during memorization, and starting the solve even if you feel like you don't remember any of what you memorized.

If you do just sit there after putting on the blindfold and can't remember anything, try to at least remember as much as you can, even if it's only 1 piece. That will still train your memory to get used to going faster than it is now.

You will probably DNF a lot when you first start going this, but those will go away over time as your brain gets used to thinking on that higher speed. Like Daniel I've been working on my BLD a lot, mostly big cubes, and in two weeks I have had about 5 successful 4x4 solves and about 3 successul 5x5's. Considering I practice almost every day, if not a few solves per day on some stretches, that is really terrible for me to DNF so much. However, recently my accuracy has started picking back up and my times are MUCH better than they were before all this "speed memorizing" practice.

My attitude towards BLD cubing is to always push yourself just a little beyond your ability, even as your ability improves. If you notice that you start memorizing comfortably faster than you memorize now, then speed up your memorization even more to make it no longer very comfortable. When you get in a competition go at a more slow and "careful" pace, and since you will be so used to go super crazy fast, even your "slow" pace will actually be quite fast.

Treat your brain like a muscle. If you don't feel the burn, you don't gain any muscle mass. Well if you don't completely overload your brain and try to make it do way more than it is currently capable of doing, you'll never improve your memorization and thinking speed. It works the same way, or at least I have tried to think of it that way, and so far it has worked for me.

As for learning the setup moves I have two pieces of a advice.

1) Learn a LOT more algs than you currently use. This way you won't need setup moves as often as you do now, and can just use an alg. Think of trying commutators or learning lots of 3 cycle algs, anything like that.

2) Do lots of sighted solves with your BLD method and see which setup moves you are using. Also, practice your harder cases with your eyes closed constantly, during your down time or just as drills when you practice.

I mentally do my hardest 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 wing edge cycles in my head during my day on my drive to work, when it's slow at work, on my lunch break, etc.. That's another way to get comfortable with awkward setup moves, just do them in your head all the time and get used to seeing them.

Alright I'll get off my soapbox. I wouldn't take my advice too seriously for the 3x3x3, as I have hit a wall for quite a long time and cannot get passed it, but for the 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 I have found that these tips have greatly increased my speed for memorization and recall on average.

Hope this helps,
Chris

 

[Johannes91]

Thanks Chris! I'll try to memorize too fast and see if I get better. It sounds like a good idea.

Setup moves are really easy to get used to, just doing many BLD-solves should help. Big cubes are of course harder, but 3x3 is simple. I use usually just the PLL 3-cycles, but M' U2 M U2 and similar commutators are really useful. (R U R' U')*3 D2 (R U R' U')*3 D2 is also good to know.

 

[cmhardw]

Setup moves are really easy to get used to, just doing many BLD-solves should help. Big cubes are of course harder, but 3x3 is simple.

Hey Patrick,

For the bigger cubes, setup moves are actually very repetitive and you almost always do the same thing.

When doing a commutator on the big cube you look for things in this order:
1) 2 pieces in 1 layer, and 1 piece off that layer
2) Are the two pieces in 1 layer interchangeable?
3) Can you place the lone edge into the layer with the 2 interchangeable edges easily?
4) start doing the commutator

So setup moves are only of a limited few types. Either a setup move 1) Gets two pieces in one layer interchangeably and one piece off that layer, or 2) Changes two non-interchangeable pieces already in the same layer so that they are interchangeable.

There is only one other setup move type, and that is to make #3 easier, meaning that it makes it easier to place the lone edge into the layer with the 2 interchangeable edges. This situation for edges is any cycle of the form lUB->rUF->lDF

Notice that there are two interchangeable edges in 1 layer (in two ways), and one edge off that layer. However the first move to place the lone edge into the action spot (replace one of those 2 interchangeable edges) is very difficult. This is the only other type of setup move, and it requires 2 moves to make that hard case an easy case.

There is a center setup that requires a setup move for the same reasons, and that is this one blD->lfU->rbU

I use this alg for that case:

l' F2 u2 l U2 l' u2 l U2 l' F2 l

Other than that one weird edges case and that one weird centers case almost all setup moves are 1 move long, ocassionaly a 2 move setup alg will make the actually commutator more finger trick friendly, so in that case I'd use the 2 turn one instead of a 1 turn one.

I just wanted to let you know that yes the setup turns are different all the time, but they are almost always 1 of 2 types, and almost always just 1 single turn. So they aren't as bad as you might think they would be, for the bigger cubes I mean.

Chris

 

[Stefan]

Originally posted by cmhardw@Sep 13 2006, 07:23 PM
l' F2 u2 l U2 l' u2 l U2 l' F2 l

Shorter in QTM (plus I don't like u2):
([Rr]' F) (U' r U) l2 (U' r' U) l2 (F' [Rr])

 

[cmhardw]

Oh wow Stefan that alg is amazing! I very seriously had never thought to do a commutator like that for big cube centers! I'm hooked lol, I've had cases similar to the setup just the internal commutator does in your alg where I would do setup moves, where I obviously don't even need to. Wow, thanks so much, that alg rocks!

Chris

 

[Johannes91]

I tried going too fast yesterday, and wow, that works! I did around 10 solves, and only one was succesful. But I had a lot "good" DNF's. For example, I got a 2:11, but did wrong setup-moves when fixing the parity so it was off by 3 edges. And another solve, 2:18 with 3 mispermuted corners, was really good. My PB is 2:20 so those solves were really fast for me. After I get more used to going fast, I will get sub-2.

I haven't solved 4x4 BLD yet, but I know I can do it. Around 3 weeks ago I tried and memorized everything visually, including a 24-cycle of edges. The problem is that I still remember the cycle easily, so it disturbs me when I try to memorize other cycles... I'm more interested in 3x3 anyway, but I will solve 4x4 BLD at least once.

 

[cmhardw]

I tried going too fast yesterday, and wow, that works! I did around 10 solves, and only one was succesful. But I had a lot "good" DNF's. For example, I got a 2:11, but did wrong setup-moves when fixing the parity so it was off by 3 edges. And another solve, 2:18 with 3 mispermuted corners, was really good. My PB is 2:20 so those solves were really fast for me. After I get more used to going fast, I will get sub-2.

Hey Johannes, That's awesome! I'm glad the speedy stuff worked for you, I know different things work for different people. As for the close DNF's, that's exactly what to expect. Soon the close DNF's will become successful solves and the really bad DNF's will start becoming close DNF's as you get more used to going that fast. Keep at it, that's exactly how you can practice to get better solves for 3x3 BLD!

I haven't solved 4x4 BLD yet, but I know I can do it. Around 3 weeks ago I tried and memorized everything visually, including a 24-cycle of edges. The problem is that I still remember the cycle easily, so it disturbs me when I try to memorize other cycles... I'm more interested in 3x3 anyway, but I will solve 4x4 BLD at least once.

That's exactly why I don't memorize the centers or edges visually anymore. You can still remember that cycle now. Now imagine memorizing that cube, and then maybe 30 minutes to an hour later being told to memorize another one. Then an hour after that being told to memorize a 5x5, then a couple hourse after that being told to memorize even another 5x5. That's how things will go for you in a competition for 4x4 and/or 5x5 BLD if you take both solves.

Journeys are amazing for memorizing a lot of stuff, but never getting confused about what memorized information goes with which cube. When you do start focusing on the 4x4 again, I highly recommend learning about either journeys or roman rooms, or any sort of filing type system for your memorized information. That way you can do one solve, and if it is a DNF you can do another solve in relatively short time and not mix up any parts from the first solve.

Visual works very well for the 3x3, but can make memorizing multiple cubes in a row for the bigger cubes difficult, at least in my experience.

Chris

 

[pjk]

Chris & Johannes,
Thanks for the tips, I'll be working at it. Chris, I was wondering, when you do a few 5x5 and 4x4 BLD solves, does it make it easier for you to solve the 3x3? Do the larger cubes act as a "warmup" like in non-BLD solving? Once I get get my 3x3 BLD down to around 2 min - 2:30, I'll start on the 4x4.
Pat

 

[Johannes91]

Originally posted by cmhardw+Sep 14 2006, 11:53 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (cmhardw @ Sep 14 2006, 11:53 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Journeys are amazing for memorizing a lot of stuff, but never getting confused about what memorized information goes with which cube. When you do start focusing on the 4x4 again, I highly recommend learning about either journeys or roman rooms, or any sort of filing type system for your memorized information. That way you can do one solve, and if it is a DNF you can do another solve in relatively short time and not mix up any parts from the first solve.[/b]

Hey Chris,
That method sounds really promising. When I get enough motivation, I'm going to learn it. Probably after I get really good at 3x3.

Originally posted by cmhardw@Sep 14 2006, 11:53 AM
Visual works very well for the 3x3, but can make memorizing multiple cubes in a row for the bigger cubes difficult, at least in my experience.

I agree, 3x3 is so easy that visual works really well. Now I can memorize easily 2 3x3's, but 3 is a little hard. I'd like to solve at least 5, but my visual memory is definately not enough for that. I'm going to try the PEG-system (http://www.freewebs.com/bernett/memorytechniques.htm) because it's really easy to learn. Later I might switch to journeys.

<!--QuoteBegin-cmhardw@Sep 14 2006, 11:53 AM
Chris[/quote]
Johannes

 

[Johannes91]

Originally posted by cmhardw@Sep 13 2006, 03:51 AM
My attitude towards BLD cubing is to always push yourself just a little beyond your ability, even as your ability improves. If you notice that you start memorizing comfortably faster than you memorize now, then speed up your memorization even more to make it no longer very comfortable. When you get in a competition go at a more slow and "careful" pace, and since you will be so used to go super crazy fast, even your "slow" pace will actually be quite fast.

I couldn't believe it's that easy at first, but it really is. Memorizing too fast for a few days helped a lot. I can memorize average scrambles in 50-60 seconds now, and I memorized one easy scramble in 35 (!) seconds, but DNF'd it.

Now I tried going slowly for Ryan's BCC (http://www.ryanheise.com/competitions/bcc/). First solve was just a bad DNF, but it was a really hard case. Second was 2:18, even though I memorized and solved "slowly". It was a DNF (off by 3 edges), but I was really surprised. Third solve was 2:16 and my new PB. I'm now around a minute faster than a week ago, thanks Chris! I'm going to get sub-2 today.