Blame optionsScalper.  He starts talking about “teh cube” and it piques my interest.  Then I see a little more cube stuff out there.  So I break down.  2 weeks ago I go out to Toys R Us and pick up a Rubik’s Cube.  Did you know that the cube debuted 25 years ago?  1980 baby!

Now I had never played with a cube for more than 10 minutes at a time previously, and had never solved one.  I solved it that day.  Took about 30 minutes as I deciphered the algorithm found here.  It’s a great starter algorithm.  Within a couple of days I was down to a 5 minute solve.  That’s all just muscle memory and remembering the moves, and do this over and over until you see this pattern, then do this.  No real thinking there.

Now before you go thinking I’m spending my whole life on cubing now, let me tell you that, aside from the first day, I’ve only been solving it 3 maybe 4 times a day max.  And I’m keeping it in the office so I don’t have it on the weekends.  So while I am a little obsessed with speed, I’m not practicing 24/7.  This is good news for you and I’ll tell you why.  The ability to consistently solve a cube in under 30 seconds is not going to get you laid that often, and the type of girl that wants to bed a guy purely on his speed cubing ability…well I don’t know if I want to go there.  However, the ability to gracefully solve it in a couple of minutes is a nice conversation piece and party trick to have in your bag.  Because how many people can do that?  More than you think, but how many in your circle of influence can?  Thought so.  If you can solve the cube in under 3 minutes, even in under 5, you have another shot in your bag when you need it to gain the edge for “most interesting person here”.

So, I was stuck on 5 minutes for about a week.  Then I started to recognize some patterns that allowed me to shortcut the algorithm and shave time off my solving.  Tuesday, I was in under 4 minutes.  Just yesterday I got my first under 3 minute solve at 2:56.  First thing this morning I dropped a 2:20 on it, and was consistently solving at just over 3:00.  Today I did obsess over it a little, and as promised to the mad scientist, I am posting that I just hit 1:52.  It was perfect.  The corners on the last layer permuted themselves during the second layer and I skipped two whole parts of the algorithm.  I’m pushing it to average about 2:30 right now, but I hit under 2, and that was my goal.  Since I can easily get it done under 3 now I think I’m good to go in the party trick arena.  3 minutes won’t lose someone’s attention.

I do want to study a few more advanced cube algorithm and see how they work, and see how fast I can go with them.  Now that I got what I wanted, I can focus more on the patterns and the combinations (you know…the nerdy stuff) rather than balls to the wall brute forcing it.

So there’s my nerdiness quotient filled for the day.  I’m a sub-2 cuber.

Update:  Two in a row.  after posting I solved again…1:47.