Here's an idea for an expansion of that notation. To make the algorithms even shorter (fewer syllables) and easier to remember, you could have multiple letters stand for the same kind of move.
If the first letter of the sequence is a...
Vowel: the first face to turn is U
Consonant: the first face to turn is R
After the first letter, it doesn't matter whether a vowel or a consonant is used- the face alternates between U and R.
= Vowels =
A/O: clockwise
E/I: counterclockwise
U: 180 degrees
= Consonants =
R/L/M/N: clockwise
G/K/T/D/P/B: counterclockwise
V/F/S/Z: 180 degrees
The idea is that you pick letters in a creative way to make a little story, or something that you can easily remember. So for example:
(R U2 R' U) R2 U2 (R' U' R U') R2
Could become:
LUG MUFET NES
Which in my mind creates the story "you are lugging an NES (nintendo entertainment system) to [little miss] muffet." Those three words are pretty easy for me to remember.
As another example:
U (R' U R U) R2 (U' R U' R') U2 R2
May become:
A TRAM FIND PUF
The story in my head would be "a tram (perhaps like in Thomas the Tank Engine) finds a puff (of smoke)".
These stories seem silly, but anything works for memorization. It would take a little work to memorize the translation scheme, but if one could learn to turn each letter into a move quickly, I think such mnemonics could help one learn 2-gen algorithms before they have become safely set in muscle memory. I want to try this for myself to see if it is an effective way of learning algorithms.
If the first letter of the sequence is a...
Vowel: the first face to turn is U
Consonant: the first face to turn is R
After the first letter, it doesn't matter whether a vowel or a consonant is used- the face alternates between U and R.
= Vowels =
A/O: clockwise
E/I: counterclockwise
U: 180 degrees
= Consonants =
R/L/M/N: clockwise
G/K/T/D/P/B: counterclockwise
V/F/S/Z: 180 degrees
The idea is that you pick letters in a creative way to make a little story, or something that you can easily remember. So for example:
(R U2 R' U) R2 U2 (R' U' R U') R2
Could become:
LUG MUFET NES
Which in my mind creates the story "you are lugging an NES (nintendo entertainment system) to [little miss] muffet." Those three words are pretty easy for me to remember.
As another example:
U (R' U R U) R2 (U' R U' R') U2 R2
May become:
A TRAM FIND PUF
The story in my head would be "a tram (perhaps like in Thomas the Tank Engine) finds a puff (of smoke)".
These stories seem silly, but anything works for memorization. It would take a little work to memorize the translation scheme, but if one could learn to turn each letter into a move quickly, I think such mnemonics could help one learn 2-gen algorithms before they have become safely set in muscle memory. I want to try this for myself to see if it is an effective way of learning algorithms.
