Random Cubing Discussion

I thought I heard him say he's done one bld while drunk. Or maybe that was Chris?

I have done quite a few BLD solves while more or less drunk :D

Usually when (drunk)people hear that I can solve it blindfolded they want to see it. And I like to show them :D

I have noticed that I can get very consistent successes while quite drunk if I just review my memo many times and take it slowly. Times for this kind of solves are usually something around 1:30 for me. Which is still impressive enough for most people :P
 
5 of the 10 best podiums of all time are from August 2014.

Golden age of cubing, anyone?

Nah. Cubers are still improving constantly. The best podiums will continue to be extremely recent. It's not that August 2014 is special; it's that the best results will continue to be beaten. In December, December will be every bit as much a "golden age" as August is now.
 
I think it may be caused by the lack of school in the summer months, so cubers are reaching their "peak" of practicing near the end of the summer. And maybe in December too, since cubers are cooped up indoors with more time to practice.
 
Nah. Cubers are still improving constantly. The best podiums will continue to be extremely recent. It's not that August 2014 is special; it's that the best results will continue to be beaten. In December, December will be every bit as much a "golden age" as August is now.

There has been US Nats, Euros, Aus Nats, a 2 day UK comp, a 3 day UK comp, an American comp with 4 rounds of 3x3 etc. Lots of big comps in areas with fast cubers. December will not be the same. Next year around this year will probably
 
There has been US Nats, Euros, Aus Nats, a 2 day UK comp, a 3 day UK comp, an American comp with 4 rounds of 3x3 etc. Lots of big comps in areas with fast cubers. December will not be the same. Next year around this year will probably

I'm sure that there are months that are heavier than others in terms of competitions/records/great podium times. The point of my post wasn't August versus December. The point was that right now is not a golden age compared to [random time in the future]. If more records are being broken right now, it's because of comp schedules, not because of a "golden age of cubing."
 
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Nah. Cubers are still improving constantly. The best podiums will continue to be extremely recent. It's not that August 2014 is special; it's that the best results will continue to be beaten. In December, December will be every bit as much a "golden age" as August is now.

Unless I'm mistaken (it's a hack), here are all months that at some point were in the top 10 at least four times:

Aug 2008 : 4 times
Jul 2010 : 4 times
Oct 2010 : 5 times
Apr 2011 : 4 times
Aug 2011 : 4 times
Aug 2014 : 5 times

That does look special to me. Only the second 5, and even 4 is rare.

If more records are being broken right now, it's because of comp schedules, not because of a "golden age of cubing."

Well you could say the comp schedule is what makes it "golden".

But yeah, I dislike the term "golden age" being thrown around without supporting statistics. Second time I've seen that this month after [post=1006284]this[/post] and goodatthis sadly never answered [post=1006303]my request[/post].
 
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But yeah, I dislike the term "golden age" being thrown around without supporting statistics. Second time I've seen that this month after [post=1006284]this[/post] and goodatthis sadly never answered [post=1006303]my request[/post].

Sorry about the choice of terminology; I probably should have come up with a less clichéd title. What do you think would be a better one?
 
Sorry about the choice of terminology; I probably should have come up with a less clichéd title. What do you think would be a better one?

I don't have an alternative suggestion. I probably would've just pointed out the 5 out of 10 and not called it anything :p

It wasn't that bad, though, at least it was fairly clear what you meant and it's actually special. I guess I'm just not a fan of buzzwords.
 
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I didn't even realize I didn't answer your request, I thought I did :p

Well I would define a "golden age" in historical terms as a time where society is excelling. In this case, it would mean that the cubing community is excelling, and by this I mean WRs are being improved upon. But improvements in the cubing community don't always mean WRs either. Also, golden age is a little like an ice age, they don't happen just once. :)

But I do agree with you about terms just being flung around.
 
Well I would define a "golden age" in historical terms as a time where society is excelling.

The "golden" isn't the problem, the "age" is. Which is why that's what I asked about. And "a time" is really no better. Is it a month, a year, a calendar year, something else? Without knowing what you mean, it's not verifiable or falsifiable and thus bad.

Also, golden age is a little like an ice age, they don't happen just once.

Well, I'd say in general both versions would work, but the possible non-uniqueness was clear because you said "a golden age" rather than "the golden age".

Edit:
Using data from WCA_export451_20140827 and Stefan's WCA forum statistics tool.

[TABLE="class:grid,align:left"]
[TR][TD]Year[/TD][TD]WRs[/TD][TD]WRs until Aug 8[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]1982[/TD][TD="align:right"]1[/TD][TD="align:right"]1[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2003[/TD][TD="align:right"]18[/TD][TD="align:right"]0[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2004[/TD][TD="align:right"]42[/TD][TD="align:right"]30[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2005[/TD][TD="align:right"]56[/TD][TD="align:right"]25[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2006[/TD][TD="align:right"]53[/TD][TD="align:right"]28[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2007[/TD][TD="align:right"]73[/TD][TD="align:right"]38[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2008[/TD][TD="align:right"]74[/TD][TD="align:right"]46[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2009[/TD][TD="align:right"]76[/TD][TD="align:right"]48[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2010[/TD][TD="align:right"]81[/TD][TD="align:right"]43[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2011[/TD][TD="align:right"]80[/TD][TD="align:right"]48[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2012[/TD][TD="align:right"]55[/TD][TD="align:right"]38[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2013[/TD][TD="align:right"]42[/TD][TD="align:right"]23[/TD][/TR]
[TR][TD="align:right"]2014[/TD][TD="align:right"]53[/TD][TD="align:right"]44[/TD][/TR]
[/TABLE]

SELECT
year Year,
sum((regionalSingleRecord='WR')+(regionalAverageRecord='WR')) WRs,
sum(if(month*100+day<=808, (regionalSingleRecord='WR')+(regionalAverageRecord='WR'), 0)) 'WRs until Aug 8'
FROM Results JOIN Competitions ON Competitions.id = competitionId
WHERE regionalSingleRecord='WR' OR regionalAverageRecord='WR'
GROUP BY year
ORDER BY year;
 
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