# CuSHan - Cubing Short Hand



## mrdjnash (Dec 22, 2019)

Hi Everyone,

I created an alternative notation for cubing algorithms called CuSHan - Cubing Short Hand. It started off as a way for me to get around the clockwise / anticlockwise confusion I seem to struggle with when reading standard notation. I've shown it to a few non-cubers and they thought it seemed easier to pick up than standard notation, so I thought it might be worth sharing with other people. I've certainly found it easier for me to execute algorithms on the fly, as well as memorising new ones. It also has the added advantage of being easy to read backwards, so setting up cases to practice is also easier.

It's not intended by any means to replace the existing notation, but people who are strong visual learners, or have the same issues as I do with confusing clockwise / anticlockwise may find it a useful addition. Particularly when faced with learning the 57 OLL and 21 PLL algorithms for example!

I've been doing software development for quite a while so I've put together some resources to make it useful, like a translator to convert from standard notation to CuSHan, cheat sheets with Beginner’s Method and CFOP algorithms on, and an API for integrating into other sites if people wish to.

The main website is here: https://cushan.io/

There’s also a YouTube video explaining how to read it here:


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## ProStar (Dec 22, 2019)

I think it's a cool idea, but imo it'd be a lot easier to read something like R U R' U' then a rounded loop. And when you get more complicated/longer algs, you'd have to dissect the drawings, which would take a lot longer. Traditional notion isn't really hard anyway, here's how I explain it:



Spoiler: My Explanation of Notation



A letter by itself (i.e: R) means a 90º clockwise turn of that face. If an apostrophe (‘) is added onto the end of the letter (i.e: R’), it means a 90º counterclockwise turn of that face

U - Up
U’ - Up Inverted

D - Down
D’ - Down Inverted

R - Right
R’ - Right Inverted

L - Left
L’ - Left Inverted

F - Front
F’ - Front Inverted

B - Back
B’ - Back Inverted

The letters are easy to remember, U is *U*p, F is *F*ront, L is *L*eft, etc. And if there's an apostrophe, you do a counterclockwise move instead of a clockwise one.



Also, reconstructions would look ridiculous. For example, here's a reconstruction of Yusheng Du's 3.47 in CuSHan:


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## ImmolatedMarmoset (Dec 22, 2019)

If anyone else here is familiar with linguistics, it reminds me of a non-linear writing system!


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## ProStar (Dec 22, 2019)

The CuSHan translator is actually kind of fun to play around with lol, I'm generating a bunch of images using random solves I'm getting off of the Reconstruction Thread. Here are a few I did:



Spoiler: Elo13's 9.13 Single



Scramble: U R2 B R' L U F R D2 R L2 U' R2 U F2 D B2 U' R2 D2 R2

Normal notation:

M D U R' U' R2 F // FB 7/7
R' U' r' U' R' U R' U' R U R' U' R U R' U2 R' U R U' R' U' R // SB 23/30
R U R' U' R' F R F' R U R' U R U2' R' // CMLL 15/45
U2 M U M U' M' U2 M' U' M U2 M' U2 // LSE 13/58

CuSHan:







Spoiler: TheCube4226's 7.40 Single



Scramble: D2 L B L2 F2 U2 R2 U F2 D2 B2 D' L2 B L2 R D' L' R D'

Normal Notation:

z2 y

R' F R2 F2 U' R2 F'

U' L' U L U L' U L U' L' U L

L U' L'

U R' U R y U2 R U R'

U2 F (R U R' U')2 F'

CuSHan:







Spoiler: Jayden McNeil's 4.97



Scramble: L2 U L2 D F2 D' F2 R2 D L2 B R2 F' L2 D' L B' U2

Normal Notation:

x' z2
F D R2' F' R
y U' R' U R
L U L' U L U L'
y' R' U R R' U' R' F R F' U R U' z' y y' x2 x' z z' x2 y2 y' y x2 z2 x2 L2

CuSHan:


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## ZZ'er (Dec 23, 2019)

Learning notation is just like anything else it just takes practice, but that's a cool idea.


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## Filipe Teixeira (Dec 23, 2019)

Wow, words can't express my amazement. You made all this environment, videos, images, site, examples, API
You got my respect dude, I'll certainly do my best to share this with my friends


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## PetrusQuber (Dec 23, 2019)

Cool!


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## Filipe Teixeira (Dec 23, 2019)

hmmm...
I tested it with some scrambles and things got really confuse because the signals overllaped with previous ones.
Maybe you want to check that out



> Test these scrambles:
> 
> R' L' F' D2 L' F2 U2 L' F' L2 D2 F2 L2 B2 U' R2 D' R2 L2 F2
> 
> ...



Also, could you present an option to disable animation on the translator?


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## ThatGuy (Dec 23, 2019)

mrdjnash said:


> but people who are strong visual learners, or have the same issues as I do with confusing clockwise / anticlockwise may find it a useful addition.


Yep me too, I will definitely be trying this out. Unfortunately I just finished learning CMLL, so not sure what I'll apply it to yet lol.


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## ImmolatedMarmoset (Dec 23, 2019)

mrdjnash said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> I created an alternative notation for cubing algorithms called CuSHan - Cubing Short Hand. It started off as a way for me to get around the clockwise / anticlockwise confusion I seem to struggle with when reading standard notation. I've shown it to a few non-cubers and they thought it seemed easier to pick up than standard notation, so I thought it might be worth sharing with other people. I've certainly found it easier for me to execute algorithms on the fly, as well as memorising new ones. It also has the added advantage of being easy to read backwards, so setting up cases to practice is also easier.
> 
> ...


Your next task is to connect it to the GAN 365I!

(Obviously you don’t have to, but it’d be cool if you did)


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## mrdjnash (Dec 27, 2019)

Thanks very much for all the great replies! And sorry for the delay in responding, Christmas kind of crept up on me! Merry Christmas by the way 



Filipe Teixeira said:


> hmmm...
> I tested it with some scrambles and things got really confuse because the signals overllaped with previous ones.
> Maybe you want to check that out



Thanks Filipe, I'll have a look. There's a path-finder algorithm that tries to stop overlapping where possible, but if the path means that there is no alternative it tries to present these in the best way possible - which still may look confusing! In this case, the algoritm should be split up into sections using commas. For example your scramble R' L' F' D2 L' F2 U2 L' F' L2 D2 F2 L2 B2 U' R2 D' R2 L2 F2 which looks like this as a single algorithm:

 

Looks like this when broken up:



Which is probably a bit easier to read.

I think I'll add in a scramble generator as the next addition.



Filipe Teixeira said:


> Also, could you present an option to disable animation on the translator?



Definitely. I'll add that in too.


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## ProStar (Dec 27, 2019)

By the way, I'm extremely impressed at what you have accomplished. I may not believe that it is the best idea, but it is undeniable that it is impressive.


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## mrdjnash (Dec 27, 2019)

Thanks very much ProStar! It'll be very interesting to see how people take to the idea. I think new cubers will probably be most likely to embrace it if they don't know either CuSHan or the standard notation, but I guess time will tell. I'll be doing a beginner's method video next, so that might raise some awareness.

I had a very interesting comment on Reddit where someone said they thought it might be good for people with dyslexia - which I'd never even thought of. If it helped at all with increasing inclusivity for new cubers then that would be amazing!


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## PetrusQuber (Dec 28, 2019)

By the way, just an idea, maybe make it obvious where the starting point of the alg is, because sometimes I write something, then can’t find the beginning.


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## mrdjnash (Dec 28, 2019)

Hi PetrusQuber, did you know that the algs always start at the dot? Is that what you mean?


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## PetrusQuber (Dec 28, 2019)

mrdjnash said:


> Hi PetrusQuber, did you know that the algs always start at the dot? Is that what you mean?


Oh I see now. Yes, I completely missed that out when looking at the alg. Thanks!


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## mrdjnash (Dec 28, 2019)

No problem. It also makes it easy to do the alg backwards - you start at the arrow end and work back to the dot.


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## Fredrick (Dec 28, 2019)

I find this to be absolutely amazing at what you were able to do. While some people will definetely prefer this I just can’t see myself switching. It’d be too much work for something that I find to be very minor.


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## mrdjnash (Dec 28, 2019)

Thanks Fredrick. I think that's totally fair - if you're already getting everything you need from standard notation then it's probably not worth it. Having said that, if you don't learn it you won't be able to play the game I'm planning to create in the next few months


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## JohnnyReggae (Dec 29, 2019)

As others have said already, I am extremely impressed with the amount of work and effort that you have put into this already. Initially I was quite confused looking at it, but playing with some algs and moves it is starting to make a lot more sense. I'm undecided if I want to pursue it more, but it is intriguing enough right now that I'm going to spend some more time with it even if it just to make some pretty pictures  

I like the lateral thinking that went into coming up with this idea so from me you get a full 10 points on this most definitely. Who knows what you may come up with next


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## JohnnyReggae (Dec 29, 2019)

I'm a little confused with the F and B moves. The image for the Sledgehammer does not make sense with the F and F' moves both going the same way. Similarly if I substitute the F's for B's and do R' B R B' the B moves go in the same direction ?


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## JohnnyReggae (Dec 29, 2019)

JohnnyReggae said:


> I'm a little confused with the F and B moves. The image for the Sledgehammer does not make sense with the F and F' moves both going the same way. Similarly if I substitute the F's for B's and do R' B R B' the B moves go in the same direction ?


Ok, it's starting to make some more sense to me now. I've been playing with scrambles and solutions and I can start to see how it all works. The F and B moves are not to confusing anymore


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## mrdjnash (Dec 29, 2019)

Hi JohnnyReggae, thanks very much for your positive comments! I've got quite a few ideas on where I think I could take CuSHan in the future, so I'll keep you updated.

I'm glad the F and B moves are making sense now. By the way, have you tried to run the algorithms backwards yet? I.e. start at the arrow end and work back to the dot? I find it very satisfying to be able to do that, especially when trying to learn new algorithms.


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## mrdjnash (Dec 29, 2019)

Hi Xtreme Cuber, thanks for the great comments! You can break the alg up into different sections by using commas. So for example, if you always wanted to see RUR'U' on its own, you would just write ..,RUR'U',... and it will be drawn separately.


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## JohnnyReggae (Dec 30, 2019)

I know you have set the ability to split an alg or scramble to make things easier to read. Do you have a way of coding it to assist when the images become quite tangled ?

So I got this image for this scamble : R D2 B R' F' B2 U L2 F L R2 D F2 U' L2 B2 R2 D R2 F2 U2


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## mrdjnash (Dec 30, 2019)

Yes, that's a good idea. I would have to think about how this would work, but my first thoughts are that maybe you could select a max grid size for each section, i.e. 2 x 2 or 3 x 3. Then if drawing the next move exceeds those dimensions for the current section it will automatically start a new one.

Obviously this would be a user setting (probably enabled by default), so if anyone still wants massive single sections they can still have them.


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## mrdjnash (Jan 3, 2020)

Hi Guys,

Just to let you know about some updates I've made following all your very helpful comments:

-I've added in the ability to auto-break on triggers - so things like RUR'U', R'FRF' etc. will automatically be broken. This was a great suggestion from Xtreme Cuber. This also applies to cube rotations, so now if you paste something like: xRUR'URU'2R'RUR'U'R'FRF'x' with no breaks, you get:



-I've added in a couple of options to auto-limit the length of CuSHan sections - either by length (i.e. x segments at most) or by dimension (i.e. a grid of no more than x by x) - thanks JohnnyReggae for those.
-I've also added in the ability to set your segment animation duration - so if you don't want animations these can be effectively disabled by setting this 0.

The new options are under 'Render' in the Settings:



I've also added in a simple scramble generator - the button next to the Translation box:



I've put a change log on the page for anyone who wants to see what's changed:



The next changes will probably involve either the CuSHan game I've got in mind, or a timer/ solve time tracker if I feel like getting the user management and database bits coded in. If anyone has any other suggestions then don't hesitate.


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## Etotheipi (Jan 3, 2020)

Since we read left to right, I feel like R moves should have two short placeholder lines on the left, and L moves should be single arrows, or they always have placeholder lines.


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## PetrusQuber (Jan 3, 2020)

In your beginner’s method page, step 5 is orient yellow edges. Should be permute (you’re shuffling pieces around, not flipping them, or ‘orientating‘ them.
Plus in the first sentence of paragraph two of Step 7, you say ‘the‘ instead of ‘this’

Suggestion: If you want, add a CFOP/Fridrich tutorial too, because the algorithms page doesn’t explain much about what you actually need to do. (And if you’re up to it, maybe other methods too )


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## mrdjnash (Jan 3, 2020)

You're quite right, thanks Petrus. I'll update it.


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## mrdjnash (Jan 3, 2020)

PetrusQuber said:


> Suggestion: If you want, add a CFOP/Fridrich tutorial too, because the algorithms page doesn’t explain much about what you actually need to do. (And if you’re up to it, maybe other methods too )



That's true - an intro to CFOP would definitely be a good idea. And other methods too - although I may have to learn these first!


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## Etotheipi (Feb 15, 2020)

Cubeorithms made a vid about CuSHan O_O


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## mrdjnash (Feb 15, 2020)

I just saw that! How awesome of him. What a legend!


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## BenChristman1 (Feb 15, 2020)

Here it is if anybody wants to watch it:


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## AlphaCuber is awesome (Feb 15, 2020)

so I watched that earlier and I realised that this is good for helping algs flow when you learn them, but I was wondering how you would do comms with this?


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## mrdjnash (Feb 16, 2020)

Hi AlphaCuber, I'm not sure what you mean by doing comms?


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## ImmolatedMarmoset (Feb 16, 2020)

mrdjnash said:


> Hi AlphaCuber, I'm not sure what you mean by doing comms?


Comms is short for commutators, “Algorithms” used to switch 3 pieces on a cube intuitively. I don’t know what alphacuber meant with the question, but ask me for any more questions about commutators


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## Etotheipi (Feb 17, 2020)

ImmolatedMarmoset said:


> Comms is short for commutators, “Algorithms” used to switch 3 pieces on a cube intuitively. I don’t know what alphacuber meant with the question, but ask me for any more questions about commutators


Probably they meant notation like [R,U], Which, in normal notation is R U R' U'. It would be cool to see a way to write that in Cushan.


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## _DJ_ (Feb 25, 2020)

I broke it...
2r Uw2 2r on 4x4


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