I’m sure almost every one of us has played with a Rubik’s cube at some point in our lives, and perhaps even some of us own one, mixed it up, tried to figure it out, and then just threw it into the back of the closet. A few years ago, I decided to get my first Rubik’s cube. At the time, it was it’s 25th anniversary, so I got one of those special edition ones (ooooh, a white sticker that says “25 years” on it!), and tried my hand at it. Ha. It sat on my desk for about a month before I decided to download one of those “solving” applications, where I entered in the colours of each face of the cube, and it walked me through the solution in 99 moves or less. Once solved, it went into my drawer where it sat until I moved into my own apartment, and from there it sat on my bookshelf, receiving no love.

That is, until recently. For the last few years I’d heard about speedcubing, and about six months ago I saw some dude on the subway doing it. Needless to say, I was impressed, but felt slightly thick in the head when I couldn’t figure out how he did it. Looking into this further, it turns out that some algorithms (or rather, turning patterns) are used to get all the colours lined up, and eventually, the solution. One of the more popular methods is known as the Fridrich method, named after Jessica Fridrich, who apparently placed second at the 2003 Rubik’s Cube World Championships. However, looking at her instuctions, I was quickly lost.

But, thanks to some dude named Dan Brown, and the magic of YouTube, I was able to get an idea of what was necessary. My unsolved Rubik’s cube, which had been this way for the last few weeks, is now back in proper order. You could ask me how I did it, but I honestly have no clue. I can’t even recall one of the algorithms at the moment either. It’ll take a bit of practice, but I’m sure I’ll eventually memorise them, and be able to solve a cube without looking up how to do it. If you want to get some pointers, check out the YouTube vids:

Part one – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsQIoPyfQzM

Part two – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW_BBp3FPMQ

Personally, I’m not interested in learning how to speedcube, but if I can solve them with a little thought, then I’m happy. Gotta find something to exercise the brain with, as video games don’t seem to cut it.