The effect of music on cubing-WCA Regulations?

[Paul Wagner]

I get faster times in the nude. ELIMINATE RULE 2h. Who agrees?

I don't care, but don't expect me to be your judge.

1e2) All competitors should be available for judging, if needed by organisation team. Penalty: disqualification of the competitor for the competition.

You don't seem to have much of a choice

Not neccesarily because it says "should be available" and the results would be disqualification. But what if you're available and don't want to do it. No rule against that.

 

[anythingtwisty]

This is the way I think of it. The advanced mp3 players today can easily receive live audio. Imagine jailbreaking an iPod Touch and transmitting live sound to it from a transmitter. It may sound crazy to you, but it could easily happen. Don't mess with this rule, and stop bickering.
/thread

 

[shelley]

Allowing music players only makes things more complicated. Keep things simple, the rule is fine as it is.

 

[brunson]

More like +1000

This is such a win thread.

Also, please note that I solve better with 5mm tiles, so I would like to change the rules.

Furthermore, I believe a 20 second inspection would be more beneficial to my solves, so lets get on changing that too.

I hate when people take a serious idea and make a mockery out of it. Music is a small factor that helps people get slightly faster times. But, maybe it shouldn't be legal maybe it should. Just give your input not a witty remark.

It's called pointing out the stupidity of an idea. Why were my points not just as valid as his?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum

Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
[FONT=Trebuchet MS, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]

 

[Kit Clement]

More like +1000

This is such a win thread.

Also, please note that I solve better with 5mm tiles, so I would like to change the rules.

Furthermore, I believe a 20 second inspection would be more beneficial to my solves, so lets get on changing that too.

I hate when people take a serious idea and make a mockery out of it. Music is a small factor that helps people get slightly faster times. But, maybe it shouldn't be legal maybe it should. Just give your input not a witty remark.

It's called pointing out the stupidity of an idea. Why were my points not just as valid as his?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_absurdum

Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
[FONT=Trebuchet MS, arial, helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]

You can try to sound profound with me, but it shall never work! =p

But seriously, it goes beyond the fact that listening to music is an inconvenience to the person who's judging you. If you practice with your music at the competition, you're much less likely than you already are to not hear your name called. The sound of your headphones will likely leak and distract those around you. It gives an unfair advantage to those who have these devices, not only in a cubing focus/mental state sort of way, but it also gives you an easy way to deal with nerves in a situation where just about every cuber is nervous for their solves. Not only does it detract from the competition atmosphere, it detracts from the social atmosphere. Even if you are listening to music and risking your hearing ability for things such as the 8s/stop announcements by the judge, you are also affecting the competition environment around you.

 

[jtjogobonito]

Not neccesarily because it says "should be available" and the results would be disqualification. But what if you're available and don't want to do it. No rule against that.

I'd love to see you say that to Bob.

 

[qqwref]

I think the whole argument is pretty dumb. Listening to music is against the WCA regulations. Practicing so you can only get good times with music is like practicing so you can only get good times when you start the stackmat with your forearms.

Basically: if you want good times in competition, practice in a competition-like setting. If you don't make that extra small step, you don't really have the right to complain when you can't do as well in competition. It's more efficient for everyone if you change yourself than if you try to change the entire organization anyway.

 

[CharlieCooper]

i think the most important thing in this whole debate is that for organisers it's hard enough trying to get people to get in the right place at the right time, let alone if half of them are listening to music. some do between solves and to be honest that's a little irritating and not to mention a tad anti-social in my opinion. i loathe this "constantly having earphones in" culture that we appear to exist in. bloody ipods, it promotes monosyllabic communication in between songs and doesn't make you look cool.

i personally find it hard to cube with music on because i find it hard to concentrate and it just distracts me when i hear a cool bit that i like...

 

[cuberkid10]

They might now let you do it because you could cube to the rhythm. Kind of like metronome cubing.

 

[guitardude7241]

I prefer many things with music. I am a very social person, but when trying to concentrate, why would you need to talk to anybody? I understand that would interfere with the "8 seconds.... 12 seconds" thing, but why not have the competitor look at the judge, he/she nods her head, and they start inspection. If it's a DNS, just have them tap their shoulder or something, and then they'll stop and be counted as a DNS. I think music should be allowed, as long as it's quiet. What exactly is quiet? When the judge, and the judge(s) around can't hear the music. Why interrupt other judges to ask if the music's loud? Do it between solves.

 

[Paul Wagner]

Not neccesarily because it says "should be available" and the results would be disqualification. But what if you're available and don't want to do it. No rule against that.

I'd love to see you say that to Bob.

Oh, but I did : D.

 

[Robert-Y]

Hello Gaetan?

 

[Brad]

How about we leave the rules as they are and get over the fact we can't listen to music.

There are much more important things to spend our time fighting for. Screw changing the rules, it is just adding complications to an already complex sport.

Drop it and fight for something more important.

Maybe be able to solve while NOT listening to music, for example.

I do, but even after weeks of no-music practice I still get significantly better times while listening to music.

Practice more.

Thats like saying "I think corked bats should be allowed in baseball because no matter how much I try with a non-corked one, I can't hit it as far"

It is against the rules in order to make it FAIR. Leave it that way.

Wow dude really? You're trying to compare a corked bat (cheating) in baseball, to listening to music while solving? Music isn't a steroid or a drug or anything like that. Its a proven way to relax yourself. Some people can relax without music, some cant. Plenty of people get nervous and panic when trying to speed solve so music helps. I personally don't care whether or not it should be allowed in competitions, but i don't see what the issue is with it... Or what went through your head to compare it to a corked bat in baseball. There are valid arguments for and against music during solves so stop trying make your own view point sound better.

 

[edd5190]

There was a discussion similar to this one once in the Yahoo! forums about how the time it takes you to drop the cube affects your times here: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/speedsolvingrubikscube/message/15116

I feel that the argument Tyson made then applies nicely now. The winner of a competition isn't the "person who can solve fastest." The winner of a competition is the one who can "start the timer, solve their cube, and stop the timer the fastest."

You can argue the same way with people who want to play music in competition. The winner of a competition won't just be "the person who can solve fastest", the winner will be "the person who can solve fastest under the competition regulations and environment."

 

[Zaxef]

I'd sign that petition.. I always listen to music while cubing, and the sound of like 50+ people talking all at once (and dumbass little kids playing with stuff in the Children's museum., my god was that ever annoying, there was this piano thing that played the whole building like an instrument EXTREMELY loudly while we were solving... sigh) is extremely distracting.

 

[brunson]

But, the fact of the matter is everyone at that competition dealt with the same annoyances. The argumentum ad extremum here would be that those who practice in silence at home would demand soundproof booths to solve in during a competition.

 

[miniGOINGS]

But, the fact of the matter is everyone at that competition dealt with the same annoyances. The argumentum ad extremum here would be that those who practice in silence at home would demand soundproof booths to solve in during a competition.

...that's not a bad idea...

 

[brunson]

Yet still unreasonable...

 

[miniGOINGS]

Yet still unreasonable...

Oh yea, totally unreasonable, but it would be nice, if the WCA had an unlimited budget.

 

[krazedkat]

I dunno. My PB (which is 9.50 seconds) was set in the bath tub (don't ask)... I don't listen to music...