This year, for the first time in my life, I learned how to solve a Rubik's cube. And I've discovered that there are a couple of common misconceptions that are undoubtedly preventing the majority of the population from solving this puzzle. Firstly, that it's a puzzle you solve, rather than a puzzle you learn. This is perhaps the largest obstacle to looking up the solution - I know it was for me. I had this idea in my mind that looking up the solution was cheating. But the reality is, it took even Erno Rubik himself a month to solve the puzzle the first time. I don't know that anyone could sit down and work out the puzzle in any kind of reasonable time frame, the way Will Smith's character does in The Pursuit of Happyness, without studying, learning, practicing, and memorizing the algorithms needed to solve the puzzle. So unless you're some kind of supergenius (in which case you don't need my advice), I suggest you swallow your pride. Looking up the solution isn't the last recourse of a frustrated incompetent - it's just the beginning of the fun you can have with this toy.
The other common misconception about the Rubik's cube is that you solve it face by face, rather than layer by layer. Most people are able to solve one face of the cube without too much difficulty. Feeling a sense of accomplishment, they get to work on a second face, only to find that it's not so easy to put together without messing up the face they've already solved. The truth is, you can't solve the puzzle one face at a time, you have to solve it in such a way that each of the pieces gradually falls into place - layer by layer. So your second landmark shouldn't be two whole faces solved, but one face, with each of the pieces in its proper place - by matching up with the colors of each of the sides. In other words, you should have the first layer solved. After that, you can get to work on the middle layer (this is where things get progressively more complicated), then put the opposing face together, and make sure its pieces are all in the right place (solving the final layer). Like so:
[description: video demonstration of a naked man solving a Rubik's cube]
Part 1 - solving the first layer
Part 1 - solving the first layer
I had to split the video into two parts due to Blogger's file size limits. I considered editing the video down, but I thought it would be more effective if you got to watch the solution from start to finish with no cuts. I was able to get my solving time down to under four minutes, which I feel is pretty good (although the world record is measured in seconds). I should probably be able to do the first part faster, but I enjoy it the most because I can solve it intuitively - by looking and seeing where each piece needs to go. After this, more and more complicated algorithms (series of twists) are required to move the pieces around without messing up the ones you've already solved. Short of committing those sequences to memory, you'll probably need to reference them as I do.
[description: video demonstration of a naked man solving a Rubik's cube]
Part 2 - this is where the magic happens
Part 2 - this is where the magic happens
This video may be a textbook definition of "gratuitous nudity", but I thought it would be neat to record a video of me solving a Rubik's cube from the perspective of being a nudist. (Certainly, there's nothing remarkable about the way - or the time - in which I'm solving the cube). Alternatively, I suppose this could be considered a form of sapiosexual porn. :-p
