Category talk:Puzzle Notation
Criticism of slice notation guidelines
I'm aware the notation is always sketchy when discussing slice moves, but that's probably because they don't fall into place like everything else. When regarding rotations, the standard (also what makes sense) is x=R, y=U, and z=F. U is more common than D and F is WAY more common than B. Also, the majority of the population is right handed, so R makes sense as well.
The slice moves, however, are M=L, E=D, and S=F. Why would two of the three be complete opposites and the third not? And furthermore, why would they need to be different at all?
Is it possible to get this changed so either all the slice moves are opposite the cube rotations or so they're all the same? I know E and S are so very rarely used and y and z are so often used, it probably doesn't matter that much, but it can be very confusing to new cubers.
I would guess the standard is set and it would be impossible to change it now, but is there a reason for the madness or were the notation Gods just not thinking at all? Kingdomcarts 08:23, 13 June 2010 (UTC)
A possible explanation for why slices might be the way they are: Ease of memorization based on pronounciation.
(R) ar
(M) Em*
(L) El*
- both start with the short E sound
(U) you
(E) EE*
(D) dEE*
- both end with the long E sound
(F) Ef*
(S) Ess*
(B) bee
- both start with the short E sound
--MiniGOINGS 23:47, 26 July 2010 (UTC)
