John White
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John White is a British cuber. He was the first person to officially (pre-WCA) solve a Rubik's Cube blindfolded, in 1981.
He was a friend of Duncan Dicks at Warwick University in the early 1980s. According to Dicks, John White "spotted that someone was claiming to be able to solve the cube behind their back in just two looks - and someone else was claiming a world record time for solving in one hand." They decided to split the tasks and Duncan Dicks became a one-handed speedcuber, and "John White was soon the world record solver behind his back - one look in 20 minutes."[2]
David Singmaster mentions John White in his Cubic Circular. In Issue 1 (November 1981) he states:
John White, 19, a second year mathematics student at the University of Warwick can do the Cube behind his back with one look. He demonstrated this for Mal Davies, taking 10 minutes to study the Cube first. Unfortunately it came out with two pieces wrong, which he then corrected behind his back, in a total time of 154 seconds.
In 1982 (Issue 3 & 4) Singmaster himself observed John White at a charity cube contest, apparently in Birmingham on May 15. He states:
I saw John White do a cube completely behind his back (136 sec).
Dicks has further stated that John White demonstrated his skill on British television "probably on Nationwide or something like that - in about 1982/83."[3]
External links
- World Record page listing John White's result
- David Singmaster, Cubic Circular, Jaap's Puzzle Page
