What is the best skill you possess that makes you stand above the average person?
Since the Reddit blackout I decided to learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube. My best time for solving one so far is 82 seconds. I know it’s no world record but the average person can’t solve a Rubik’s cube so I’m way more experienced.
Way to go! I used to hustle the lunch room with my Rubik’s cube and get people’s desserts by solving it in less than a minute. I only knew the inefficient layer-by-layer method, so it really was a race.
It was my eldest that got me going actually. He came home from school with the old shit cube he had, did 3 turns on it and said “There, I solved it Dad.”
I said “Did you fuck. Who sorted that for you?” and he told me a kid at school was just asking everyone if they had a cube and to bring it in to school, so he did and the kid solved it for him.
I thought “If a 12 year old can do it, so can I” and used it to help with my Reddit withdrawals.
I’ve finally got a magnetic cube now and just have it in my pocket. I’m trying to improve my F2L speed where you put the corners in and the 2nd layer at the same time. I really like doing the last layer with algorithms, it’s like magic.
I feel like this about chess. I’m fairly confident I can beat everyone I know except for like 3 people. But I’m better than 12% of people on Lichess.
Yeah it just goes to show that hobbies are like icebergs.
I picked up a guitar in Covid and managed to learn basic chords and songs in the first year of playing it every single day. I’m 4 years in now, and I feel less advanced than I felt back then.
I think it’s because when you’re learning a new technique, you fucking suck at it, but when it’s in counterpoint to other techniques that you can do to a high level, it sounds worse than just one technique being played badly, plus you’ve trained your ears over the time you’ve been playing, so you can hear the bad bits better.
Guitarists that have been playing for decades have more of these techniques down so they sound better, but that’s just to people who have struggled with those techniques themselves. To the uninitiated guitarists are just guitarists, some play country and some do that wiggly wiggly guitar solo thing.
Guitar playing is an Iceberg with a big bit sticking up, chess and rubix cubes are smaller icebergs, but you’ve got to mine it all the way down before you can climb to the top.
I picked up cubing half a year ago as a middle aged dad. I set myself a goal of being able to solve it in under 30 seconds. I’m averaging around 40s now so I’m slowly getting there. It’s a fun little hobby and I always carry my cube around with me and practice as often as I can. I just finished learning all 21 PLL algorithms and I’m quite proud of myself 😄
I’m 39 and right there with you, although I can’t seem to get under 80 seconds for a solve yet. I’ve been cubing for a couple of months and have got the 2 look pll and oll down nearly now, just a couple of algorithms I’m struggling to remember. Love doing the last layer though, it’s like magic.
I’m at a point now where I’m solving faster than I was (it was around the 3 minute mark a couple of weeks ago but I’ve just got a RS3M) and it is starting to feel “easy” now.
I also have one in my pocket most of the time, it’s another hobby my wife hates lol “Do you HAVE to bring that thing with you?” YES I DO
I’ve just got the Tornado V3 Pioneer, and I’m loving it. Just using that cube cut off some time in itself. Have you started doing F2L and cross directly in bottom yet? I averaged 55ish with 2-look OLL and PLL with F2L and cross in bottom. It takes a long time to get really fast with F2L so that’s a ongoing thing I’m trying to optimize.
