# Understanding the Cube



## robertpauljr (Jul 26, 2008)

I've written a little book about the cube. I print it out 2 pages per sheet on 8 pieces of paper. I have also uploaded a copy at Scribd.

Understanding and Solving the Cube

It is *not* a guide to speedcubing. It *may* be useful to speedsolvers (or not-so-speedy solvers like me) that want to introduce friends to cubing. Or not. I hope to find out.


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## Lotsofsloths (Jul 26, 2008)

Who is Dave Baum?


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## Stefan (Jul 27, 2008)

Cube solving tutorial without images you gotta be kidding me.


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## robertpauljr (Jul 27, 2008)

Lotsofsloths said:


> Who is Dave Baum?



Revenge

When I got a 4x4x4 it took me 4 days to solve it. Sometimes there were edges or corners that ended up doing bizarre things at the end of the solve. I later looked online to see how others dealt with it. I liked Dave's solution—the one at the bottom of his page. There are problems with some of the details, which I corrected in my implementation of it, but overall it pointed me in the right direction.



StefanPochmann said:


> Cube solving tutorial without images you gotta be kidding me.



The Corners First half of the book has tons of empty space. I'll start with it. 

Thanks.


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## AvGalen (Aug 9, 2008)

robertpauljr said:


> Lotsofsloths said:
> 
> 
> > Who is Dave Baum?
> ...


Cube solving tutorial (in 2008) without youtube video? You gotta be kidding everyone


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## robertpauljr (Aug 11, 2008)

The tutorial is a booklet that I could print out and share with co-workers I was trying to teach to cube one week when I thought we would have time to do it. It didn't really work out, but since it was intended to be a printed booklet that they could use on a long cross country plane ride, I did not include any video. I figured they wouldn't need any pictures in the book, as I would just be able to show them live.

Somewhere along the line I decided to post it on my blog page, http:lengtat.us. And then I decided to post it here to see if it could be useful to anyone. But from the feedback I've gotten, it is probably more a waste of time and space than anything else here. 

Could we just delete this thread altogether?

Thanks.


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## AvGalen (Aug 12, 2008)

take it easy robertpauljr. Stefan is well known for his very strict comments, but you should have seen the smiley behind my "video" comment.

I actually think that the way you explain things is really good and the format looks attractive, even without the pictures.

But the first method you describe is really bad (make up your mind, teach beginner, keyhole or intuitive F2L but don't mix them up) and you start by saying "no algorithms" while you actually use many algorithms.

To summarize: Pretty good writing skills lead to an attractive package, but the content could have been so much better.


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## robertpauljr (Aug 12, 2008)

AvGalen said:


> take it easy robertpauljr. Stefan is well known for his very strict comments, but you should have seen the smiley behind my "video" comment.



OK, thanks. But after reflection, I realize that there is little chance that people would invest the time or effort into working through my booklet when they can watch video tutorials instead, or learn from a site that presents a method of solution with pictures. I personally wish that there was less stuff online to sort through looking for truly helpful information, so if my guide is not something that people would bother to study through, I shouldn't have posted a link to it here.



AvGalen said:


> I actually think that the way you explain things is really good and the format looks attractive, even without the pictures.



Thank you.



AvGalen said:


> But the first method you describe is really bad (make up your mind, teach beginner, keyhole or intuitive F2L but don't mix them up) and you start by saying "no algorithms" while you actually use many algorithms.



Ah, but this is exactly what I like about it! Instead of just learning a single method of solving the cube, if someone were to work through the booklet, they would learn a wide range of cubing skills. They would then be able to customize to their own style and preferences. Or they would be able to go on to learn other methods. 

I was shooting for a booklet that would help people understand, not just memorize. I want people to learn moves that make sense to them. But the fact is, if they are not really dedicated to cubing, they aren't going to read and re-read my explanations, and if they are really dedicated to cubing, they could learn to understand by actually solving the cube over and over and over again rather than reading about it.



AvGalen said:


> To summarize: Pretty good writing skills lead to an attractive package, but the content could have been so much better.



Exactly! So could someone simply delete the thread so as not to clutter the How To section with my impractical guide?

Thanks.


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## AvGalen (Aug 13, 2008)

Maybe I can blackmail you? I will delete this thread as soon as you post a better guide online. You have the skills to do it!


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## StachuK1992 (Aug 13, 2008)

AvGalen said:


> Maybe I can blackmail you? I will delete this thread as soon as you post a better guide online. You have the skills to do it!


that's not nice
but, it's funny!


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## robertpauljr (Aug 13, 2008)

AvGalen said:


> Maybe I can blackmail you? I will delete this thread as soon as you post a better guide online. You have the skills to do it!



It is a deal.

I have some ideas formulating even now...


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## Cube_Noob (Aug 16, 2008)

Hey well, if it means anything to ya, I've been looking for a guide just like this! You see I know the beginners method inside and out, but I want to become faster so this is really helpful to me, I appreciate it a lot because it's not too complicated! thanks


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## robertpauljr (Aug 16, 2008)

Cube_Noob said:


> Hey well, if it means anything to ya, I've been looking for a guide just like this! You see I know the beginners method inside and out, but I want to become faster so this is really helpful to me, I appreciate it a lot because it's not too complicated! thanks



Thank you! It means a lot to me to know that someone could benefit by the cube information I put together.


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## madeofparts (Nov 27, 2009)

*Thanks and Hi!*

No apologies for bumping such an old thread with my first post.
I have been looking over this forum for a while and benefiting from the collective shared wisdom of all you guys for a while so thanks everyone.

However this thread especially inspired me to join and post a thanks. Great guide. Just what I was looking for.


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## V-te (Nov 27, 2009)

StefanPochmann said:


> Cube solving tutorial without images you gotta be kidding me.



You'd be surprised how many tutorials there are out there like this.


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## robertpauljr (Nov 27, 2009)

madeofparts said:


> No apologies for bumping such an old thread with my first post.
> I have been looking over this forum for a while and benefiting from the collective shared wisdom of all you guys for a while so thanks everyone.
> 
> However this thread especially inspired me to join and post a thanks. Great guide. Just what I was looking for.



Thank you. Since then I've done a couple more. One is at http://3cycling.blogspot.com/, and one at http://edges1st-budlcuber.blogspot.com/. They both rely heavily on the use of my favorite commutator. 



StefanPochmann said:


> Cube solving tutorial without images you gotta be kidding me.



On the 3-cycling page I include videos at the bottom of the page. 

My favorite way to solve the Megaminx currently is to get all the edges first, then 3-cycle all the corners into place, usually two at a time. 

The first thing I did when I got an FTO is look for ways to 3-cycle centers and edges.


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## Ordos_Koala (Jan 22, 2011)

I'm sorry, but I don't see how can this help anyone to understanding the cube... All i see is Beginner's method with slightly different final corners solving (yeah, I must admit I like more this one than first orienting, but still...) With images it will be nice tutorial, but it is again just about doing blindly what someone told you to do. You understand cube when you actually know what to do just because you can imagine what it will do with your cube, not because some book said so.


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