Solving a Rubik's cube has been synonymous with intelligence within pop culture for decades. Will Smith's character in
The Pursuit of Happiness impresses the head honcho of the firm by completing the puzzle in a taxi, and Sean William Scott's character in
Dude, Where's My Car? activates the "continuum transfunctioner" which is
a very mysterious and powerful device and it's mystery is exceeded only by it's power. Anyways, Hollywood and people in general, seem to hold those who can solve it on a pedestal. And if there's anyone who wants the glory and social affirmation that comes with solving the cube, it's
this guy!
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| First solve! |
In my pursuit to conquer the cube, I found that there a huge subculture of "cubers" out there. Some like to spend their time speed-cubing while other's enjoy challenging themselves with more advanced puzzles (not your standard 3x3x3, more like a 17x17x17 puzzle). There are entire channels dedicated to these sort of puzzles in all their mind bending forms, complete with surprisingly vibrant communities of subscribers and commenters. I even watched a documentary on the cubing world that can be seen for free
here.
Obviously I don't have the skills nor the attention span to really dive into this sort of life, but I figured that dipping my toes in would suffice. Armed with YouTube tutorials and some very beginner algorithms, I spent the past four days slowly chipping away at the process. My goal was to posses the bare minimum skills to solve a cube in any state without looking up any of the algorithms. It didn't matter how long it took for me to solve it, as long as I could do it on my own.
Honestly, I'm a little disappointed. Sure I was able to solve the cube eventually. But that only dispelled my personal belief that only super-genius' could conquer it. The algorithms are not nearly as hard to memorize as I thought, and as long as you like procrastinating on your summer classes, this is the perfect pursuit for anyone with too much time on their hands!
