Speedcubing and its public image

[AlGoreRhythm]

Hey guys! I just got an email from Bay Area Speedcubin' saying that the competition will be filmed, and may end up on TV. This made me wonder, how is speedcubing's public image. Any thoughts? Is speed cubing getting 'Bigger'?

 

[ketchuphater999]

I think so. The community has gotten bigger, as far as I can tell, and cubes are getting more appearances in media lately.

I hope I get 1-move x-cross+easy f2l+LL skip... while live on the news... and get wr

If that actually happened I could bet on being below 5.55

 

[donal56]

Do you know there are competitions of rock, paper, scissors? I think the way we see em its the way they see us, as a weird but amazing event. And yes, I think speedcubing is growing even in non first world countries

 

[Yarco]

"What's speedcubing?" "Oh, you must be good at math!"

I think its growing, but nowhere near mainstream and not a fad like Pokemon cards , pogs, or yo-yos yet.

 

[IRNjuggle28]

I don't think cubing will ever get there, and I don't feel strongly about that. I don't have any issue with cubing becoming "mainstream" or any hipster BS, but I also think that it's just not that fun. *I* love it, of course, but cubing isn't a common hobby, and a lot of cubers quit because they don't like it enough. I think most people will get way more enjoyment out of, say, basketball. Cubing is an acquired taste, and looking at it from outside my own emotions toward cubing, I can see that it's not likely to become popular, and for good reason.

 

[dougthecube]

I think one thing that massively helps the growth of speedcubing is that it is not a fad as someone mentioned. This means that people do cube for a very long time unlike Pokemon cards, and also how people throw a lot of time at it as well.

 

[TDM]

I hope I get 1-move x-cross+easy f2l+LL skip... while live on the news... and get wr

If that actually happened I could bet on being below 5.55

Unlikely at your speed... you'd have to get much more lucky than that. Even at my speed (high 13) an easy F2L is ~5 seconds, and I'd probably AUF about three times when I got the LL skip before stopping the timer. Unless I expected it to be coming and didn't panic I don't think I could get a sub-WR time until I improved a bit more.

 

[guysensei1]

Unlikely at your speed... you'd have to get much more lucky than that. Even at my speed (high 13) an easy F2L is ~5 seconds, and I'd probably AUF about three times when I got the LL skip before stopping the timer. Unless I expected it to be coming and didn't panic I don't think I could get a sub-WR time until I improved a bit more.

It's gonna pop too.

 

[ElectricDoodie]

I don't think cubing will ever get there, and I don't feel strongly about that. I don't have any issue with cubing becoming "mainstream" or any hipster BS, but I also think that it's just not that fun. *I* love it, of course, but cubing isn't a common hobby, and a lot of cubers quit because they don't like it enough. I think most people will get way more enjoyment out of, say, basketball. Cubing is an acquired taste, and looking at it from outside my own emotions toward cubing, I can see that it's not likely to become popular, and for good reason.

Yeah, that's how I feel. A lot of people who find out I speedcube, ask to see it. When I show them, they are amazed, but none of them ever want to actually learn to speedcube. Maybe they get an interest, but I've never had anyone follow through past learning F2L. In fact, most people just say, "Why would you want to keep solving the same thing over and over again? Isn't that just boring?"

 

[AlGoreRhythm]

Good points. Just found out about competitive yo-yoing, found out the competitors are called "throwers". Was about to laugh then i thought, "well, that's.. how we look to everybody else..."

 

[brian724080]

"Why would you want to keep solving the same thing over and over again? Isn't that just boring?"

To deal with people who do other sports: well, don't you just do ____ over and over again? Exactly, that's why I like doing this.

 

[Hypocrism]

I'd love for cubing to go mainstream. However I think people have the impression that you need to be intelligent, or even that you really need to think to solve (obviously wrong), so avoid it because they don't think they can put in the work. That's what's going to stop people doing it. Maybe we need a really dumb representative of cubing to get past this image...

 

[Silverspeed]

I'd love for cubing to go mainstream. However I think people have the impression that you need to be intelligent, or even that you really need to think to solve (obviously wrong), so avoid it because they don't think they can put in the work. That's what's going to stop people doing it. Maybe we need a really dumb representative of cubing to get past this image...

I see where you're coming from , however,
it does take thinking to do things such as sub-7 move cross, xCross, CLL recognition, and other advanced substeps.

 

[XTowncuber]

I see where you're coming from , however,
it does take thinking to do things such as sub-7 move cross, xCross, CLL recognition, and other advanced substeps.

Not if you're good at it.

 

[AlGoreRhythm]

I see where you're coming from , however,
it does take thinking to do things such as sub-7 move cross, xCross, CLL recognition, and other advanced substeps.

Not if you're good at it.

lol.

 

[JediJupiter]

Good points. Just found out about competitive yo-yoing, found out the competitors are called "throwers". Was about to laugh then i thought, "well, that's.. how we look to everybody else..."

Oh, I laughed. Is throwing as big as cubing?

 

[Kirjava]

Not if you're good at it.

and thinking is required to become good at it

 

[goodatthis]

I think part of the appeal of speedcubing is the assumption of unobtainability of the skill. Yoyoing seems like it could be done with some practice, same with fast clapping, cup stacking, talking, etc. Being able to turn fast is only the half of the appeal, the fact that you're even able to solve it is the cool part for most people. I get more shocked faces when I do a single solve than when I do an 100 move challenge in 7 seconds. (And I tell them it's 100 moves)

 

[Rcuber123]

I'd love for cubing to go mainstream. However I think people have the impression that you need to be intelligent, or even that you really need to think to solve (obviously wrong), so avoid it because they don't think they can put in the work. That's what's going to stop people doing it. Maybe we need a really dumb representative of cubing to get past this image...

Justin Beiber

 

[guysensei1]

Justin Beiber

Heh. Also... There's a Justin Beaver in the WCA.