I’m going to go a bit off script for this one.

Yes, this blog is about understanding boundaries between cubing and the mainstream, but my comment sections usually aren’t.

My blog does explore understanding boundaries, yes, but it also introduces a brand new hobby to a bunch of new people, my classmates. And with this comes something I love to see, interest in cubing.

Solving understanding issues is really aiming to involve more people in a hobby at its core. So with that goal in mind, I thought an excellent way to wrap up this blog would be to not look at another problem, but rather the future.

How can you get into cubing?

Like the original “You Can Do the Cube,” I shall be your guide into the unknown. Here’s how to become a cuber.

1981 You Can Do the Cube solving guide

Step 1: YouTube

Contrary to popular belief, you do not just “figure out” a cube. We leave that to the puzzle theorists and mathematicians. There is a learned method.

Where do you learn? Why, YouTube of course! At this point I’m convinced I wouldn’t be a functioning member of society without YouTube, I learned A LOT on there.

Back in the year 2012, the most popular tutorial out there was made by Dan Brown.

This video is great ignoring the fact it was recorded with a toothbrush (it was 2007, give him a break).

Another, modern alternative is made by The Cubicle.

Step 2: Practice

You may need a week or so with an hour or two a day to get your first few solves down. That’s normal! The more you do it, the more you will get familiar with the memorized algorithms.

Step 3: Memorize

Once you’re familiar with the solving process, it will be easier to memorize the algorithms. Now just practice solving it without a guide in front of you.

And… you’re done! Yes, it’s that easy it’s just a little bit of time and practice.

Don’t believe me? Here’s Mike Boyd, someone who has a YouTube channel just about learning new skills. It took him 16 hours of practice over 23 days to get a 1 minute 30 second time. Since then he’s done 2x2s, 4x4s, 5x5s, and 3x3s blindfolded. He’s living, recorded proof of the simplicity of the learning process.

Next are the optional steps! What if you want to be a speedcuber?

Step 4: Practice

Get good at the beginner’s method first! I know people who have been sub-40 seconds with beginner’s. This will help you later on to maximize potential on better methods.

Step 5: Learn a better method

CFOP is the most common advanced method and you can learn it here.

And I recommend this site for algorithms for CFOP:

https://defhacks.github.io/badmephisto-mirror/pll.html

Step 6: Practice

Notice all of the steps that are just “practice.” That’s 90% of cubing. You don’t need to be smart or skilled to be good. Just dedicated enough to learn.

The best cubers got there from practice. If you want to learn as a bucket list item or party trick, that’s great! If you find yourself loving the community like me, you’ll blink and almost 7 years will go by. Before you know it you’ll be faster than you would have ever imagined. More importantly you will have challenged yourself to learn something new and became a part of an amazing community with amazing people.

Thanks for reading. I hope you’ve learned something.

I have to level with you. I am running out of ideas.

Unfortunately there is only so much to nitpick about with the cubing community. It also makes it difficult that I limited myself to just understanding boundary issues. Lately my solutions have been increasingly one-sided. The past few topics have had really little to do with actions associated with the general public. It’s all cubers! This is the case again unfortunately.

So while there may not be much new territory to cover, I can always go back and look at some old topics in depth.

In “Don’t Become Your Cousin’s Grandpa,” I talked about solutions to the cuber geek stereotype. And earlier than that (back when my blog was just me discussing the problem, not the solution if you remember those days) I talked a lot about math in cubing.

These two ideas go hand in hand: A penchant for math is almost prepackaged into the geek stereotype. If you’ve missed my previous discussions of this topic here’s the synopsis:

You don’t have to be good at math to solve a Rubik’s cube. As it turns out the people who are more likely to try to solve what is advertised as an IQ toy as fast as they can also happen to be academically oriented (who woulda’ guess?!), and that’s where the stereotype comes from. It also comes from buzz words like “algorithm” that sound overly-complex even though they’re not. This doesn’t mean you can’t use the cube to explain math concepts like group theory, but it’s just not necessary like 10 years of chef training for making a cup of Ramen.

So let’s revisit the solution that I previously proposed.

“The best way to combat the anti-social geek stereotype is to provide evidence that suggests an opposite reality.”

Can this apply to the issue of non-cubers thinking that you have to be good at math for cubing? Not really.

I don’t know about you but if someone suggested I was good at something I wouldn’t make it my goal to prove them wrong.

While the idea of being good at math is rolled into the geek stereotype, it is not negative idea like the geek label is. Therefore the approach is different.

1. Take the frickin compliment
2. Provide new information rather than providing evidence against what they said.

For example, instead of saying,

“Actually I’m not good at math, I just failed my algebra test.”

just say,

“Thanks! Cubing has some really cool math applications, but you don’t need to learn any of that to solve one.”

So same topic, different solution. Inconvenient how that works, huh.

Life’s hard.