# Human Thistlethwaite Algorithm



## Lotsofsloths (Jun 1, 2008)

I've looked at Heise's page on it along with another tutorial on youtube.
But I still can't seem to understand the exact steps of the method..
I know you limit the moves down to only ( R, F, B, L)2 moves..
and in this order:


Ryan Heise's Site said:


> Phase 1 -> <U,D,L,R,F2,B2> group
> 
> - simple, no algorithms
> 
> ...



Can someone help me with the specifics, or at least link me?


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## Lucas Garron (Jun 1, 2008)

This is not enough? (And a tutorial video [Grant's?] didn't help any more?)

(Note: I learned from Ryan's page once, and I can get comfortably sub-1 with it - I think I've averaged 40-ish. So, I think there's enough info on that page.)


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## Lotsofsloths (Jun 2, 2008)

Mmm..
I don't get the orienting part, I don;t wanna use the alg I use for BLD, but I saw in the video tut something about moving them to one face than turning that face. But I still don;t understand.

Also the last step, that is totally confusing..


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## tim (Jun 2, 2008)

Lotsofsloths said:


> Mmm..
> I don't get the orienting part, I don;t wanna use the alg I use for BLD, but I saw in the video tut something about moving them to one face than turning that face. But I still don;t understand.



Use your intuition. You can destroy the whole cube at the first step, just get the orientation right.


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## Lotsofsloths (Jun 2, 2008)

Yes, but I don't get how to solve the edges at the last part.
Also.
@the first part, he says you can put all the edges onto a R or L face, do a singl R or L turn, then they are oriented,,but that doesn't work for me.


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## cuBerBruce (Jun 3, 2008)

Perhaps you are not understanding edge orientation correctly. First there are two particular groups that are often used as a basis for defining edge orientation: <U,D,L,R,F2,B2> and <U,D,L2,R2,F,B>. (The order the elements are listed within the angle brackets does not matter.) When basing edge orientation on these groups, using only the group generators (the moves listed within the angle brackets), the orientation of edges do not change (by definition, basically).

To find out if an edge cubie is correctly oriented for the <U,D,L2,R2,F,B> scheme, move the piece to its proper location using only the moves U, D, L2, R2, F, and B. If it ends up correctly oriented in its home position, then it was also oriented where it started from. Otherwise the piece was incorrectly oriented where it was at the start.

For instance consider the FR edge cubie at location UL (in either orientation). It can be moved to its home position using U F. If U F solves that edge, then it was correctly oriented at UL. If instead it's flipped, then it was also incorrectly oriented at UL.

If using the <U,D,L,R,F2,B2> scheme, then instead of using U F (since F is not a generator for that group), use L F2 (U U R R R also works).

In the "Post 1" section of Ryan's description, G1 is defined as <L2,R2,F,B,U,D>. But in the "Post 2" section, he changes G1 to be <L2,R2,F,B,U,D>. So this inconsistency might be one thing that's confusing you. Interestingly, Thistlethwaite's original paper didn't use either of these groups for G1. It used <U2,D2,L,R,F,B>.

If you are interested in seeing the original Thistlethwaite algorithm, use this link: 
http://www.geocities.com/jaapsch/puzzles/thistle.htm

Hope this helps.


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## pjk (Jun 12, 2008)

I like at the bottom of Jaap's page there is a letter from Morwen B. Thistlethwaite dated July 13, 1981 there, and it says:
"Thank you for your letter asking for a copy of my 52-move strategy for solving Rubik's Cube."

Just another thing to look at to see how far cubing has come...


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## AvGalen (Jun 12, 2008)

I find it amazing that somehow Jaap (from Delft, The Netherlands) found out that someone from another part of the world had discovered that 52-move strategy. How did he know?

Back then I thought I was the fastest cuber in the world because I could solve it in about 1 minute and nobody else could do it (except the others I taught and they were much slower). How great would it have been if I had known Jaap back then (I also lived in Delft).


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## cuBerBruce (Jun 12, 2008)

AvGalen said:


> I find it amazing that somehow Jaap (from Delft, The Netherlands) found out that someone from another part of the world had discovered that 52-move strategy. How did he know?



It appears the distance from Delft, Netherlands to Loughton, Essex (near London) is about 300km (straight-line distance). I note that according to David Joyner's book, Thistlethwaite was a colleague of Singmaster, so it seems he was well connected to the cubing world of the time. Thistlethwaite later moved across the Pond.

It's not clear to me how soon Jaap actually learned about Thistlethwaite's work.


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## pjk (Jun 12, 2008)

AvGalen said:


> I find it amazing that somehow Jaap (from Delft, The Netherlands) found out that someone from another part of the world had discovered that 52-move strategy. How did he know?
> 
> Back then I thought I was the fastest cuber in the world because I could solve it in about 1 minute and nobody else could do it (except the others I taught and they were much slower). How great would it have been if I had known Jaap back then (I also lived in Delft).


What a small world. I'd also be interested in knowing how he found out.


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## AvGalen (Jun 12, 2008)

cuBerBruce said:


> AvGalen said:
> 
> 
> > I find it amazing that somehow Jaap (from Delft, The Netherlands) found out that someone from another part of the world had discovered that 52-move strategy. How did he know?
> ...


I know Jaap studied in England. Maybe they actually met? I love cube history.


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## pjk (Jun 12, 2008)

cuBerBruce said:


> AvGalen said:
> 
> 
> > I find it amazing that somehow Jaap (from Delft, The Netherlands) found out that someone from another part of the world had discovered that 52-move strategy. How did he know?
> ...


That's good information to know. Perhaps we should contact Jaap to find out. I believe he is a member on this forum.


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