"I've only solved that damned thing once and it took like three days"

[iggeman]

Has anyone heard this before by a 'non cuber'? I have.
Of course it's possible, but is it plausible that someone that don't know any algorithms or methods will solve a cube just by trial and error in a reasonable amount of time?

I wonder what I would do if I came across an OLL case for instance and didn't know any algorithms.

Every time I hear this I think "yeah right :rolleyes: ", but I let it slide. Don't want to be an ******* -.-

 

[uberCuber]

cool story bro

 

[AustinReed]

cool story bro

+1

 

[iggeman]

What's wrong my trolly friends?

 

[Kirjava]

We have a "non cubers say dumb stuff" thread.

Anyhoo, hi.

 

[~Phoenix Death~]

Inb4NonCubersSayTheDarndestThings

 

[iggeman]

Didn't know that. Still, I wanted to have a discussion of whether or not it was plausible that someone could pull a Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happiness and actually just solve the cube.

 

[Kirjava]

... how do you think the first methods were created?

 

[iggeman]

Well not by you and me and in a few days or so.

 

[Kirjava]

Minh Thai worked out how to solve it in 7 days on his own. I'm sure there has been faster.

 

[uberCuber]

And in case you don't know who Minh Thai is, he officially held the WR for 20 ****ing years :3

 

[Thompson]

I had a friend that figured out how to do the first side in just 4 days

 

[thackernerd]

just?it took me 10 mins.

 

[AustinReed]

Kirjava = K4 method.

 

[qqwref]

It's certainly *possible*, but I'd say that it would require either serious planning or extreme luck. Unless you know that the person is good at logic/math/puzzles, it's much more likely that they are misremembering or lying to make themselves look good.

 

[rokicki]

It took me about six months between the time I got the cube and the time I solved it for the first time.

I have to admit, it even took a while before I realized how methodical I had to be, that I had to get a
notebook and write some things down!

[Of course, I'm not sure how much of that six months was actually spent trying to solve it.]

If someone finished it in three hours, I'd have to say, they are probably a mathematician, or at least
have a very organized mind. Or they got very lucky (last layer skip?)

I still have some twisty puzzles I haven't worked out methods for (by hand). That's what keeps them
interesting for me.

I still pretty much refuse to use "methods" or algorithms that other people invent---and that's why
I'm not a speedsolver. I am in total awe of what you guys can do but I personally prefer the
"puzzle" part of it.

-tom

 

[ZamHalen]

My aunt solved it by herself in 3 hours.
She does it sometimes but she now does it in a few sittings.

 

[Jungleterrain]

Does solving a cube fast make someone a mathematician? Does solving a cube make someone smart?

I don't know the answer to these questions.

 

[Ltsurge]

No and no!

 

[Lucas Garron]

Does solving a cube fast make someone a mathematician? Does solving a cube make someone smart?

No, and maybe. I've noticed that learning how to solve a cube tends to raise peoples' self-confidence in their abilities, though. So, in some sense, they tend to feel a bit smarter, or at least less afraid of things that require being "smart".