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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
 Posted - 08/13/2010 : 11:56:36
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But in my defense, I haven't tried all that often, which puts me comfortably within the parameters of the vast majority of the world's population. It is my understanding that there are some who have never tried it at all. There are, however, quite a few borderline idiot-savants who can whip that rascal in only slightly more than a heartbeat.
An international team of researchers using computer time lent to them by Google has found every way the popular Rubik's Cube puzzle can be solved, and showed it can always be solved in 20 moves or less.
The study is just the latest attempt by Rubik's enthusiasts to figure out the secrets of the cube, which has proven to be altogether far more complicated that its jaunty colors might suggest.
At the crux of the quest has been a bid to determine the lowest number of moves required to get the cube from any given muddled configuration to the color-aligned solution.
"Every solver of the Cube uses an algorithm, which is a sequence of steps for solving the Cube," said the team of mathematicians, who include Morley Davidson of Ohio's Kent State University, Google engineer John Dethridge, German math teacher Herbert Kociemba and Tomas Rokicki, a California programmer.
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As the answer to Life, The Universe and Everything is 42, God's Algorithm has been found to be 20 moves.
Rubik's enthusiasm extends not only to God's number, but the speed with which the tricky puzzle can be solved.
The current world record holder is Dutch Erik Akkersdijk who successfully solved the puzzle in just 7.08 seconds.
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I really can't decide to whether laugh or be envious.....
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 08/13/2010 : 12:23:02 [Permalink]
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I never solved the cube on my own. But I found a printed copy of a solution and memorised it. With a lubricated cube that was fairly easy to twist and turn, I usually solved it under 2 minutes.
I always felt envious toward those who could figure out how to put it right without having a solution provided for them.
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Collateralmurder. |
| Edited by - Dr. Mabuse on 08/13/2010 12:24:16 |
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Randy
SFN Regular
USA
1990 Posts |
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sailingsoul
SFN Addict
2830 Posts |
Posted - 08/14/2010 : 05:29:47 [Permalink]
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| It's been awhile since I held a Rubic's cube and when I have, I've gotten nowhere with it. I have read recently solutions on the web. One thing I have gotten is, it is the center colored square on each of the six sides never move in relation to each other. So, all the red have to be brought to the side with the red center piece, etc. Which still leaves me in frustration-ville but I have yet had one in my hand after learning this factoid. I don't believe I'll ever solve one. SS |
There are only two types of religious people, the deceivers and the deceived. SS |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 08/14/2010 : 10:34:20 [Permalink]
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I regularily completed two of the three levels of the cube without the solution. After that you need to move more than two pieces into place at the same time, and that's where I got overwhelmed and frustrated.
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Machi4velli
SFN Regular
USA
854 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2010 : 19:47:20 [Permalink]
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| Just take the colored stickers off and put them back on the sides you want them on 8) |
"Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people."
-Giordano Bruno
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge."
-Stephen Hawking
"Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable"
-Albert Camus |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
 Posted - 08/17/2010 : 00:51:35 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Machi4velli
Just take the colored stickers off and put them back on the sides you want them on 8)
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One of the tricks was to take a corner off and rotate it one step. Then it becomes impossible to re-assemble it right. All pieces are connected in a complex system, and turning once piece affects others as well.
Give a Cube Master such a prepared cube and see his frustration increase.
I once was handed a cube and realised when I had 5-6 pieces left that the cube was unsolvable. When I asked about it, the owner told me they once had it taken apart to see how it looked on the inside, and then put it together again not bothering to put all sides in the right colour. She just put it together again without any regards to the pieces relative positions, rendering it unsolvable.
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Machi4velli
SFN Regular
USA
854 Posts |
Posted - 08/17/2010 : 22:04:59 [Permalink]
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"Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people."
-Giordano Bruno
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge."
-Stephen Hawking
"Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable"
-Albert Camus |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2010 : 18:41:22 [Permalink]
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| I solved it with a screwdriver. Took me about a minute to take it apart and put it back together again. |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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Robb
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2010 : 20:13:54 [Permalink]
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| It was a childhood dream of mine to solve the cube. So recently I memorized the solution and can solve it in about 3 minutes. When I looked to the solutions on how to solve it in less than 20 seconds I was totally confused. Oh well at least my kids are still amazed. |
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2010 : 01:32:31 [Permalink]
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Since every one piece's position is connected to other piece's, I figure there has to be a key number of pieces that are bound together which could be used to reduce the apparent complexity of the puzzle. If you only have to identify 5 or 10 unique pieces' relative positions, then the solution will require less moves to complete the cube. But there will be a lot more algorithms to choose from. But, just use the right algorithm to put those in the right places, and the rest of the cube will come together right.
When we talk about solving the cube, time to analyze the cube before starting to turn it has to be included in the solving-time. Solving the cube in 20 seconds seems a bit short if the maximum number of theoretical moves in the optimal solution is 20. If each move takes 1s you don't have any time left for analyzing the cube. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
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Ricky
SFN Die Hard
USA
4907 Posts |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2010 : 20:32:25 [Permalink]
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I solved the Cube once on my own, back in 10th grade. I only remember it took a long time. A couple of twin brothers who were friends of mine then taught me the topside-down method that was all the rage back then, and I got good enough at that so that my best time (with a Cube packed with Vaseline) was 42 seconds, if I remember correctly.
By that time, the twins had moved on to a method in which you solve two opposite sides more-or-less simultaneously, and then twiddle the remaining middle bits into position. That dropped their times down to around 30 seconds without much effort, and one of them later went on the TV show That's Incredible to show off his ability to solve the Cube in 24 seconds or so (which, in 1983, was only a couple seconds slower than the best).
The current single-attempt world record is 7.08 seconds, according to Wikipedia.
I no longer remember "the method." I can still get it down to two or three cubies out of place without any trouble, but I've forgotten the "ending" moves which finish it off. Especially for the corner cubies. Someone handed me a mixed up 2x2x2 Homer Simpson Cube (it's shaped like his head, but split into eight parts) a bunch of years ago, and it took forever for me to get it done. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
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H. Humbert
SFN Die Hard
USA
4574 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2010 : 20:45:31 [Permalink]
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Rubic's Cube is one of those things that just makes me feel stupid. Which isn't a bad feeling, necessarily. It definitely demonstrates to me the areas in which I lack intelligence. No matter how many times I've turned it in my hands, no pattern made itself evident. I feel the same way about chess.
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"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." --Demosthenes
"The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool." --Richard P. Feynman
"Face facts with dignity." --found inside a fortune cookie |
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Badger
Skeptic Friend
Canada
257 Posts |
Posted - 08/20/2010 : 03:44:33 [Permalink]
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I solved it on my own back when I was in my teens. I recall it took me about a month to figure out the key moves, and I got faster and faster after.
I bought myself a new cube a couple of years ago, but can't remember those key moves, and don't have the concerted time now that I had back then to mess with it for hours and hours.
Oh, well, maybe when I'm in the old folks home...... |
If you think it's work, you're doing it wrong. |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2010 : 14:20:04 [Permalink]
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| I don't think that 7 seconds in one go really constitutes a genuine world record. A randomized cube can (in my experience) have a wide range of necessary moves to solve it. To truly be a record Master of the Cube, one should device a test with something like 10 randomized cubes, and calculate average solving time. This to eliminate any dumb-luck solutions resulting in an undeserved world-record, but truly test the skill of the genius cube-mind. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
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Collateralmurder. |
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I have never solved Rubic’s Cube
