Week 4 of Rubik's Cube Solving Quest

Happy 40th Birthday!!!!!!

No, not to you readers, but to the reason this blog is in existence. The Rubik's Cube celebrated its 40th birthday this past month, an as an honor of the occasion I solved the cube for the first time. I know for many of you who have found success sooner than I, this is not monumental achievement, but for the purpose of this project for me, it was a notable point of my semester. Below are images of the completed "yellow cross" that i was able to solve after completing the bottom white face and the first two rows of the four sides. You can see the white bottom side, as well as the orange, blue, green, and red sides are all complete aside from the last layer. I was able to fix that in a matter of minutes through even more trial and error. Along with how to solve a cube, this project has lengthened my patience and determination in trying something and not giving up until success. I'm pretty sure this is the second to last blogpost I will be doing because the due date for this assignment is rapidly approaching. I really feel as if the cube is making a comeback and after all the interest and positive feedback I generated through choosing this topic for 20 time, I may have played my part. If you have any questions on how to get through certain steps, the best guide I could find was the one by the rubik's company and can be accessed by the link below. They had great picture explanation and tutorial in words to match. That's all the update I have, talk to you next time!

http://rubiks.com/solving-guide/3x3

Week 3 of Rubiks Cube Solving Quest

Good Afternoon my Rubik's cube solving followers.

Since the last time I posted, I shared that I was having troubles at the white cross, two color block step. I got together with some fellow students who know how, and have solved cubes before. One of them had even had experience solving a 4x4 cube. Its even harder than the 3x3 I'm struggling with.

If you're confused as to what I mean, check this out.......



There are numerous variations off of the original 3x3 puzzle which more advanced puzzle solvers undertake as cubing projects. The people who helped me learn some of the steps that I needed to master to move on were great teachers. My project coaches were great!! They explained the steps while letting me manipulate the cube, which was outstanding. They then demonstrated their mastery by both solving the cube in under 5 minutes.

The best sites that have helped me memorize the algorithms and sequences are

http://solvethecube.com/

and

http://rubiks.com

The biggest thing I have taken away in learning to solve this cube is that once you get to the end of a step, don't be discouraged that you may need to rearrange previously solved sides. The algorithms work and there has been documentation of successes in any road blocks that you may encounter. I am currently able to solve the white cross, two colored block into the row solving methods. I am hoping to be able to complete the bottom and first two rows with all four faces by the end of the weekend before my upcoming project fair. For this event I am going to get additional cubes for my stand, and make the visual display board for people to see my blog site and hopefully check it out.

Maybe someday I will be as fast as world champion solvers like Feliks,

check it out & talk to you next time!!!

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