Speedcubing

I can solve a Rubik’s cube. It’s not as impressive as it sounds. I picked up a booklet back in the 80s when I got my first cube and learned the moves. I could consistently solve it in about 1 minute.
Like most things from high school, my cubes got packed in the moves and I didn’t really play with them again until a few years ago when I picked one up. Muscle memory kicks in - I was still able to solve it – taking a bit longer though.
The simple ability to solve a cube still impresses some people as most people never did learn how to do it.

I solve the top-down method most people who learned started with. Start with solving the top third, then the middle third, then the bottom corners and finish up with the bottom edges. While this does give you a sense of accomplishment when you are doing it, it is an inefficient way as you have to constantly mess up what you have done and then keep putting it back.

Recently though, I saw a documentary on speedcubing – where people were solving the cube between 14 and 20 seconds. They were solving from the bottom up, turning the sides with their fingers instead of their hands. I’ve found a few links – it may require looking into deeper.