What Is Rowe Hessler's Blindfold Method?

[dChan]

I had always thought he used the 3-cycle method but as I looked over the UWR BLD board I saw that he mentioned a new method that involved no CO or EO. I emailed him asking about the method but he has not responded for quite a while. Does anyone know about his new method and would you care to elaborate if you do know about it?

 

[tim]

It is a 3-cycle method. Some people call it "freestyle".

 

[dChan]

So what is so new about it? I havn't been in the loop of things so I have no idea what frestyle edges or all those things are.

 

[joey]

It's freeballin' son.

 

[hait2]

it's just.. freestyle. you remember and cycle stickers, so there's no need for orientation. there's no face restrictions, no algorithm restrictions. you can solve the first cycle using a setup to a Uperm if it's fast, the 2nd using a commutator from M2, the 3rd using just a commutator you make up on the spot, etc. it's very versatile & you can pick the best way to solve the current cycle rather than being restricted to setting up to a U permutation or moving the sticker to UB for an M2 commutator, etc.

 

[joey]

it's just.. freestyle. you remember and cycle stickers, so there's no need for orientation. .

Hmm, not always true , If I saw there was only 2 corners misoriented, I might orient them...why? because it's freestyle! (also, if all corners are oriented, it is very easy to memo)

 

[hait2]

it's just.. freestyle. you remember and cycle stickers, so there's no need for orientation. .

Hmm, not always true , If I saw there was only 2 corners misoriented, I might orient them...why? because it's freestyle! (also, if all corners are oriented, it is very easy to memo)

ok yes good point the point of freestyle is that you just solve the cube however you feel like. if orienting a few of the pieces will avoid some difficult commutator situations later on, then you can choose to do that as well!
i just meant that there isn't a specific orientation phase that must be completed

 

[dChan]

So, how would you remember stickers easily? Wouldn't you still have to remember their orientation. I know you would not need to orient them but you would need to know which way they are facing right?

Does there happen to be a guide on freestyle or is it so 'freestyle' that you need no guide?

 

[joey]

It's so freestyle there is no guide.

You don't remember pieces, only stickers.

There is no such thing as orientation, only incorrect permutation of a piece that needs to be swapped with the opposite side of the same piece.

 

[dChan]

Anyone have an example solve(with a short description of the memo process) I could see?

Sorry if I'm being annoying but it is hard for me to wrap my head around this.

 

[Lucas Garron]

http://speedsolving.com/showthread.php?t=2021&highlight=freestyle
http://speedsolving.com/showthread.php?t=2245&highlight=freestyle
http://speedsolving.com/showthread.php?t=2543&highlight=freestyle
http://speedsolving.com/showthread.php?t=3403&highlight=freestyle

The curious thing about freestyle is that once you understand BLD and comms well enough it becomes a sort of "obvious" insight: In a sense, it's the BLD method.
You memorize the permutation (and any special orientation) directly and purely (for visual, without even processing).

I have a page of freestyle comms. If you know understand a few of those and their application (that list is about as complete in its implication as I could make it), and understand sticker memo as in Pochmann of M2, and understand how/why 3-cycles work, all you have to do is a few solves to get used to the characteristics (and exceptions - really, try to work these out yourself before asking) and then practice.

 

[dChan]

Thanks, Lucas. Those help out a lot.

So would you suggest this as the moethod a sub-5 BLD cuber should take on or do you think a new BLD cuber should just get right into this if he/she understands it well enough?

 

[joey]

To anyone interested in BLD. I suggest being knowledgeable in M2, 3-cycle and old pochmann aswell.

 

[hait2]

as long as you understand the concept of cycling (i.e. pieces have a set place where they need to go) and the concept of stickers-not-moving-on-each-piece, you can go freestyle. the memorization would be similar to 3cycle but instead of remembering "this piece goes to that place" you remember "this part of this piece goes to that part of that place" which is basically the same thing

 

[masterofthebass]

I know rowe does some weird stuff now, where he actually orients after permuting. Using comms and such, he permutes the fastest way, and has figured out how to keep track of orientation. At cornell, the reason why he didn't get a sub-1 was because he somewhat dropped the cube and regripped during a CO alg.

 

[dChan]

Okay, so I guess it is only logical that you remember visually as opposed to by numbers because, this way, you can remember stickers as opposed to pieces + orientation. Thanks hait2, you explained it very well. Now I understand better, how the memo works for this.

I think I will try this later today. Maybe I'll do some solves with my eyes open first before going blindfolded - that might be smarter(although I've never really done any part of a blindfold method with my eyes open, even when I'm doing example solves).

 

[joey]

Okay, so I guess it is only logical that you remember visually as opposed to by numbers because, this way, you can remember stickers as opposed to pieces + orientation. Thanks hait2, you explained it very well. Now I understand better, how the memo works for this.

I think I will try this later today. Maybe I'll do some solves with my eyes open first before going blindfolded - that might be smarter(although I've never really done any part of a blindfold method with my eyes open, even when I'm doing example solves).

I think you may be getting a little confused. Freestyle doesn't have to use visual memo, you *can* still use numbers.

 

[hait2]

Okay, so I guess it is only logical that you remember visually as opposed to by numbers because, this way, you can remember stickers as opposed to pieces + orientation. Thanks hait2, you explained it very well. Now I understand better, how the memo works for this.

I think I will try this later today. Maybe I'll do some solves with my eyes open first before going blindfolded - that might be smarter(although I've never really done any part of a blindfold method with my eyes open, even when I'm doing example solves).

yes joey does have a point. you can still very well use numbers or images or anything else you like, to memorize freestyle/stickers, except you will need a more complex system.

for instance to memorize edges you previously needed 12 images (1 per edge) to remember permutation in the 3cycle method. So you'd remember "bear pineapple saw" for a (246) cycle where 2=bear, 4=pineapple, 6=saw or something like that

in freestyle, you can still do something similar but you will now need 24 images because each edge has 2 stickers. in fact your blue/yellow edge and your yellow/blue edge are now different although they are the same piece.

so take the same (246) cycle but instead turn it into (UL RU BL). Keep in mind now, UL is different than LU. UL refers to the "U part of the UL piece". so UL RU BL means the "U part of the UL piece" goes to the "R part of the RU piece" which goes to the "B part of the BL piece".

you can still assign images as you like, but you will need a different one for LU and UL because the "L part of the LU piece" and the "U part of the LU piece" aren't the same.

I hope that made some sense.

 

[dChan]

Yes, but if you use numbers then you will have to also remember the orientation of the pieces(basically which way the sticker faces). Visual memo, seems logically, easier for fresstyle as you are solving stickers. If you are solving pieces then numbers as well as visual will work. But for stickers, visual works better, in my opinion. I am not the expert though, I am just speaking the way my mind comprehends it.

EDIT: hait2 got to this before me.

 

[joey]

Yes, but if you use numbers then you will have to also remember the orientation of the pieces(basically which way the sticker faces). Visual memo, seems logically, easier for fresstyle as you are solving stickers. If you are solving pieces then numbers as well as visual will work. But for stickers, visual works better, in my opinion. I am not the expert though, I am just speaking the way my mind comprehends it.

EDIT: hait2 got to this before me.

No, I said to you, you can use numbers. So, you can use numbers. Instead of 1-12, you have 1-24.
Images, for example, work just as well for sticker memo. I dunno, do the names Tim Habermaas or Dennis Strehalu mean anything to you? (if not I may have spelt them wrong! =p) Or Chris Hardwick even?