Rubick's Cube

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MrXxx
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01 Mar 2012, 7:05 pm

Simple question really. Not looking for an in depth discussion.

This is in the Autism forum, because I've always felt that something about my Autism is what made me able to do this.

Anyone ever solve the cube WITHOUT following solution steps or reading anything? I mean, just picked it up messed up to begin with, and not put it down until it was solved without having any idea how to do it when you picked it up?

I bought one of the stupid things back in the eighties, when they first came out. Refused to look at any cheats, methods or instructions. I handed it to someone else to screw up so I wouldn't have a clue what was done to it. It took me a little over two days, no sleep, but I solved the stupid thing. Something happened after hours on end of messing with it. It was like suddenly something just "clicked" and I SAW how it worked. Four or five turns later and done.

I'm curious whether anyone else has ever done this, and if you have, do you think you're Autistic thinking is what made you able to do it?

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Eloa
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01 Mar 2012, 7:15 pm

No, I never solved it, because I had one only for a short time age 6 or something and it disappeared, but reading your post gives me a fuzzy feeling and makes me smile, so tomorrow I will organize to get a Rubick's Cube and I am all excited now. Hope that I can sleep now...
Thank you for putting this back into my memory.

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Last edited by Eloa on 01 Mar 2012, 7:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Atomsk
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01 Mar 2012, 7:15 pm

I find it incredibly easy to solve Rubik's cubes without using any of the solution steps. Except I knew exactly how to solve them before picking them up. Simply take it apart and put it back together.

All you have to do is turn one side halfway, so the corners are sticking out, stick a screwdriver or other flat object between the squares, then pry that corner piece off, and the cube comes apart rather easily. Then, you reassemble it. Simplest, easiest, fastest solution. If they don't want me to solve them this way, they better make a Rubik's cube that you can't take apart.

Rascal77s
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01 Mar 2012, 7:24 pm

I only played with a rubiks cube a few times and I wasn't particularly interested in it. I solved 2 sides but that's as far as I got.

MrXxx
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01 Mar 2012, 7:26 pm

Yeah, I took mine apart too eventually, but I didn't use any tools. Screwdriver? You cheated man!

The first solve I did not take it apart.

Tuttle
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01 Mar 2012, 7:32 pm

I got too distracted just spinning the pieces and not looking at the colors.

Tollorin
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01 Mar 2012, 7:37 pm

No way I could ever solve that...

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Who_Am_I
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02 Mar 2012, 1:14 am

Never solved it. That would require planning ability.

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League_Girl
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02 Mar 2012, 1:59 am

I don't think I have ever solved it.

Declension
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02 Mar 2012, 2:19 am

For each of the three axes, define a certain rotation direction as positive. Then there are nine basic moves you can do, three on each axis, always turning one step in the positive direction. Let M be the set of these nine moves. From a given starting position, every possible position can be achieved in a finite number of steps, where each step is an element of M. One of these possible positions is the solution.

The set

Quote:

M union M^{2} union M^{3} union ...

is countable, so list all of the elements of this set in a certain order, interpret them as instructions, and try them one at a time. Reset the cube after each attempt by doing the instructions backwards.

There, it's solved. The rest is just optimisation.

WARNING: This method is guaranteed to solve the cube in a finite number of steps, but depending on the ordering you pick, it could be a very high finite number.

heavenlyabyss
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02 Mar 2012, 3:17 am

Interesting, not so much that you solved it without help, but the way you saw it, the way you say it just clicked

As for myself, I did solve it but it took many many hours, and I had to take a very analytical approach. I started writing patterns down, breaking it apart analytically.

I have a question.... are you able to explain to people your process or is it just something that you "see?"

heavenlyabyss
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02 Mar 2012, 3:18 am

Declension wrote:

Quote:

M union M^{2} union M^{3} union ...

WARNING: This method is guaranteed to solve the cube in a finite number of steps, but depending on the ordering you pick, it could be a very high finite number.

Lol. True.

But I was able to solve it in 15 minutes or less once I got the hang of it and after a lot of practice. My approach was not the simplest but it was simpler than what you are suggesting!

Cogs
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02 Mar 2012, 3:33 am

heavenlyabyss wrote:

Interesting, not so much that you solved it without help, but the way you saw it, the way you say it just clicks
I have a question.... are you able to explain to people your process or is it just something that you "see?"

Id be intrigued to know too whether you can explain how you saw it. I have a similar thing with some mathematical concepts where after hours of wrestling with problems I can just see how the concept works and I can see the solution to related maths problems, but I cant explain the process Ive gone through. My theory is it is an abstract visual or concept related process.

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