# cubing in silence?



## zeroxorxdiexskater (Jan 11, 2009)

Can any of you cube when there is no noise going on? I sure cant! i need the tv on or a video on youtube in the background or music, but if someones trying to talk to me then i usually mess up but i need noise that i dont need to focus on.

what are your guys opinions


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## Ryanrex116 (Jan 11, 2009)

I have not beaten my (3x3x3) PB at my house for a long time. I usually beat it in an area with background noises. 

I think small noises help, but very loud noises make it worse. If someone is talking to you, it is very annoying.


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## abr71310 (Jan 11, 2009)

Honestly, I cube better with people around. No idea why: I set my 2nd best PB (29.33) at school when I was in the middle of class, just on the computer (on CubeMania.org) when I was discussing with a bunch of people what games in 2009 would be cool enough to buy for my laptop when I go off to uni...

I set my 26.42 when I was in the CAFETERIA on a friend's laptop; everyone was like "WTF" around me, knowing I'm usually a 45 second guy; I told them that it was non-lucky (had to explain what that meant) and that the F2L cases were actually quite simple (I built an x-cross accidentally, one edge-pair was built by that time, I saw the other two and moved them into position WHILE I WAS INSERTING THE FIRST ONE, and the OLL was 1-look; not hard... Stupid PLL though, it was both adjacent corner swap + a stupid adjacent edge swap, yes I use 2-look because I'm a newbie).

I also get sub-40 averages when I listen to music, usually Linkin Park or In Flames -- I got my FIRST sub-40 average when I listened to the ENTIRE Come Clarity album, and my 35.61 (of 5) was achieved when Take This Life was playing...

So in a way, I NEED NOISE; else I suck.  (notice how in EVERY ONE OF MY YOUTUBE videos I can't get a sub-30, since there's no noise)


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## zeroxorxdiexskater (Jan 11, 2009)

so it seems that u guys do need at least some noise

oh off topic but what does sub-x mean? does that mean basically under the number such as sub-40 would be under 40 seconds?


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## Ryanrex116 (Jan 11, 2009)

zeroxorxdiexskater said:


> so it seems that u guys do need at least some noise
> 
> oh off topic but what does sub-x mean? does that mean basically under the number such as sub-40 would be under 40 seconds?



Yeah, "sub-x" means getting a time under x.

EDIT: Sometimes, "x" represents a number minutes. This is usually used while discussing big cube times.


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## Odin (Jan 11, 2009)

Ryanrex116 said:


> zeroxorxdiexskater said:
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> 
> > so it seems that u guys do need at least some noise
> ...



this may help, X can be any number


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## zeroxorxdiexskater (Jan 11, 2009)

ok yea thats what i thought i was just making sure

anywayyysss back on topic haha


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## ccchips296 (Jan 11, 2009)

i NEED music to function XD whether it be cubing, reading, homework, studying...i listen to music. Its so silent without it


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## trying-to-speedcube... (Jan 11, 2009)

I need speed metal to sub-20

for blindcubing i really need silence, otherwise i really can't concentrate...


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## cookingfat (Jan 11, 2009)

Ryanrex116 said:


> If someone is talking to you, it is very annoying.



Yes, it completely puts me off too. 

I usually cube in silence, or sometimes the TV is on. I prefer total silence for blindfold though.


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## mazei (Jan 11, 2009)

Music when normal speed. Silence while BLD but with music is also okay. Doing it with someone talking is like talking on the phone while running the 100m dash. Seriously, it is hard to get good times like that.


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## d4m4s74 (Jan 11, 2009)

I get better times with fast music on
but it has to be of a genre I like, if not I get distracted


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## VirKill (Jan 11, 2009)

Hey, i can see pairs better when it's in completely silence....And the only sound was my cube... I can get 25 secs average with that (my long run's average is 28s)

But I start to get used to do BLD with noisy background.... They said it will be usefull at competition.


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## ManSpider (Jan 11, 2009)

ccchips296 said:


> i NEED music to function XD whether it be cubing, reading, homework, studying...i listen to music. Its so silent without it


Lol, same here, it helps me do everything, except things who needs extremely high concentration.


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## kickinwing2112 (Jan 11, 2009)

I love the sound of my cube. and sometimes Led Zeppelin


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## bamman1108 (Jan 11, 2009)

I hate when family or friends have no idea whats happening, so they start making commentary and asking me questions. I hate most when you do OLL and they think it's going to be done and they like "Awwww! You were close." Then they think I'm screwing it up when I do pll.


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## zeroxorxdiexskater (Jan 11, 2009)

bamman1108 said:


> I hate when family or friends have no idea whats happening, so they start making commentary and asking me questions. I hate most when you do OLL and they think it's going to be done and they like "Awwww! You were close." Then they think I'm screwing it up when I do pll.



haha oh man yes i know what your talking about


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## d4m4s74 (Jan 11, 2009)

zeroxorxdiexskater said:


> bamman1108 said:
> 
> 
> > I hate when family or friends have no idea whats happening, so they start making commentary and asking me questions. I hate most when you do OLL and they think it's going to be done and they like "Awwww! You were close." Then they think I'm screwing it up when I do pll.
> ...



happens to me all the time

time to learn 1look last layer


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## zeroxorxdiexskater (Jan 12, 2009)

HAHAHA i just got my first sub-20 while watching spongebob! of course i got very lucky but stil!


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## Ryanrex116 (Jan 12, 2009)

cookingfat said:


> Ryanrex116 said:
> 
> 
> > If someone is talking to you, it is very annoying.
> ...



I was filming a 5x5x5 solve, and my dad woke up. He walked to the bathroom. Did "number 1", flushed, and then started asking me questions. I deleted the video because it was so bad.


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## fanwuq (Jan 13, 2009)

zeroxorxdiexskater said:


> bamman1108 said:
> 
> 
> > I hate when family or friends have no idea whats happening, so they start making commentary and asking me questions. I hate most when you do OLL and they think it's going to be done and they like "Awwww! You were close." Then they think I'm screwing it up when I do pll.
> ...



Funny thing is that this used to never happen to me. But recently, many strangers make this comment.


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## byu (Jan 13, 2009)

I don't care if people talk to me during regular solves, but for BLD I really need it to be quiet. Even the sound of people walking around disturbs my concentration. Maybe I just need to be a little better at BLD.


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## mazei (Jan 13, 2009)

I'm trying to get used to loud noises during BLD. So yeah, doing it at school definitely helps.


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## cookingfat (Jan 13, 2009)

I managed to do a successful 3x3x3 BLD in a busy hotel bar on Christmas day in front of all my family. The time must have been over 10 minutes, but I was concentrating more on success than time. The background noises were not too bad really, it's just I can't memo when people are asking me questions about it.


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## AvGalen (Jan 13, 2009)

Silence => Good concentration => Good times
"Fast" music => A little less concentration, but faster turning => Same times on average, but a bigger SD, also more POPS
Radio (music + talking) => Big loss of concentration => Bad times
Talking to other competitors => Some loss of concentration, but very relaxed turning => Good times

But the ultimate combination I have found so far is this:
1. Physical activity, to get your body into an active state
2. Happy thoughts, to relax and move fluently
3. Dirty thoughts (or even better, physical arousal), to improve concentration and look-ahead


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## coolmission (Jan 13, 2009)

AvGalen said:


> 3. Dirty thoughts (or even better, physical arousal), to improve concentration and look-ahead



Proof?


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## AvGalen (Jan 13, 2009)

coolmission said:


> AvGalen said:
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> > 3. Dirty thoughts (or even better, physical arousal), to improve concentration and look-ahead
> ...


I tried it, it worked
You should try it as well


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## mazei (Jan 13, 2009)

AvGalen said:


> coolmission said:
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I wonder what were those thoughts. But a good summary except for the talking to others. I could never get a good time talking to other people. I'm not much of a multitasker.


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## panyan (Jan 13, 2009)

ccchips296 said:


> i NEED music to function XD whether it be cubing, reading, homework, studying...i listen to music. Its so silent without it



m the exact opposite, noise puts me in a bad mood which means i hate being in crowds and perford at my best in silence. I love exams for that reason becuase it is pure silence where i can think and not be interrupted or overshadowed. Thats the reason i cube in silence - the algs become effortless!


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## Crossed (Jan 13, 2009)

coolmission said:


> AvGalen said:
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> > 3. Dirty thoughts (or even better, physical arousal), to improve concentration and look-ahead
> ...


Erik's 3x3 world record?

I'm unable to concentrate when it's silent, so I usually got the radio on.


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## coolmission (Jan 13, 2009)

Crossed said:


> Erik's 3x3 world record?



Oh that's clever 

I got my best time (even at the competition) while I was pissed off. Took me 5 seconds to make the darn cross because my cube locked up, but ended up doing a fast F2L


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## Erik (Jan 13, 2009)

I like a good strong muzzing on the background or music, also on BLD. I hate it when people are like: SHHHHH we are doing BLD cause I suck at BLD when it's quiet. 
Also distraction in any (preferably female) form is always good 
And of course important is a good chair and table/light/temperature of your hands.


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## Rabid (Jan 13, 2009)

I perform poorly when sitting next to drunken transients on the bus who jabber in my ear about how much I suck. I prefer silence.


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## Kieran (Jan 13, 2009)

The guy that said he loves silence, and in exams he works best because of the silence. I am the complete opposite, I can't do work/assignments or cube when it's quiet.. It creaps me out and my mind just blanks.. really bad. 

Anyone got any ideas for that? Ha. I can't remember how I do algorithms when I don't have music or people around talking. Oh and I can't solve a cube that great by myself, I do better times when people are watching. 

What do people reckon with watching/not watching?


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## coolmission (Jan 13, 2009)

Erik said:


> And of course important is a good chair and table/light/temperature of your hands.



Obviously  I went skiing a few weeks ago and tried solving outside at -15°C. I couldn't even feel my fingers 



Kieran said:


> What do people reckon with watching/not watching?



I think that differs from person to person. I tend to be nervous when a lot of people are watching. You probably get used to it after a while.


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## AvGalen (Jan 13, 2009)

Crossed said:


> coolmission said:
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Very true. And that WR happened very shortly after I had a discussion with Erik about this very topic. I don't want to go into to much detail because of the nature of this forum and the fact that children come here as well, but I actually did a semi-scientific research project on this. I thought I posted some details of that project before, but I couldn't find it with the search :confused:


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## coolmission (Jan 13, 2009)

AvGalen said:


> Crossed said:
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Look harder then  Because now I am curious


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## AvGalen (Jan 14, 2009)

coolmission said:


> AvGalen said:
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I looked harder, but really couldn't find it:confused:. I looked even harder and found out that I didn't write about the actual experiment

Here is the story. If you are below 18, please consult your parents before trying experiments like this. As they say in Brainiac: "We do these experiments so you don't have to"



Spoiler



I was cubing at home and tried to determine the influence of several things (music, talking, big-cubes-warmup) on my 3x3x3 times. That is where I got the results above from.
A little later I was walking my dog in the park, playing around and having fun. After a while my dog got tired and decided that playing with the tennisbal by himself was more fun than returning it to me just to see me throw it away again.
While he was busy I went back to my experiment and determined that outside light, higher temperatures and the good feeling from seeing my dog enjoy and feeling the sun on my body were also very beneficial to cubing.
I decided to test the effects of physical activity by running (big circles around my dog), solving some cubes, more running, etc. A girl that was jogging around the park noticed my weird behavior and asked what I was doing. I explained and she turned out to be very interested in this experiment.
We build up the experiment from stroking arms to body-pressing while talking dirty and that was when I got my best average ever (a very low 20.xx)


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## d4m4s74 (Jan 14, 2009)

so next time at the The Hague/Benelux/any other open, bring some hot chicks


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## AvGalen (Jan 14, 2009)

d4m4s74 said:


> so next time at the The Hague/Benelux/any other open, bring some hot chicks



We always do. Will you bring some as well?
And for the female cubers we always bring hot guys


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## coolmission (Jan 15, 2009)

AvGalen said:


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I'm starting to love Dutch girls  But seriously, that are some pretty interesting results. 

I can add some interesting facts aswell:

- Solving after a few beers in a bar --> less agility, more focused
- Solving while standing on a table and dancing to some Après-Ski Hits --> best solve ever  but also more pops


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## AvGalen (Jan 15, 2009)

coolmission said:


> AvGalen said:
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Doesn't dancing to Après-Ski Hits require at least a few beers?


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## coolmission (Jan 15, 2009)

AvGalen said:


> Doesn't dancing to Après-Ski Hits require at least a few beers?



Indeed  But the dancing negates the agility loss from the beer


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## krazedkat (Jan 17, 2009)

Hmmm... Never thought about it... I will have to test this ...


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