# Speedcubing has no future... It's fading away...



## chechen (Apr 20, 2013)

Hmmm... Let's be honest for a minute or two...


The speedcube world is fading... DYING as a matter of fact!

Just think about it:

- There are less and less cubers on competitions worldwide,
- There are less and less speedcubing video blogers,
- All records are at (or close to) maximum possible,
- All cubes are already designed perfectly (or close to),
- Speedcubing will never get more popularity then what it has now...


WHAT EXACTLY TO EXPECT? FOR WHAT TO HOPE FOR? IS THERE A PERSPECTIVE?

We need some revolutionary turnover in speedcubing world... soon!


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## cubingawsumness (Apr 20, 2013)

I'm not sure if trolling or something, but everything here is either unproven/unprovable or incorrect.
:confused:


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## Mikel (Apr 20, 2013)

chechen said:


> Hmmm... Let's be honest for a minute or two...
> 
> 
> The speedcube world is fading... DYING as a matter of fact!
> ...



1) False.
2) False, if not who cares
3) Close doesn't count. The WR single for 3x3 hasn't stood for that long.
4) Nope.
5) Who cares? If other people don't care for it so be it.


I love to cube so I expect people to also love it. If they don't then whatever, who cares.


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## YddEd (Apr 20, 2013)

What about we all buy a computer to break the record. (Online cube)


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## ottozing (Apr 20, 2013)

As long as there are people that enjoy speedcubing for reasons other than to just break records, speedcubing will never dies.


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## Dylann (Apr 20, 2013)

I agree mostly.

But I, along with many others, cube not because we want to break records or make videos but just because we want to have fun.


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## chill011 (Apr 20, 2013)

I partly agree...

Dying? NO!!!... But, it does kinda loosing it's charm...

WCA should get serious and make a strategy
for more intensive speedcubing afirmation worldwide,
with final goal: GAINING RECOGNITION AS AN OLYMPIC SPORT!


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## YddEd (Apr 20, 2013)

chill011 said:


> I partly agree...
> 
> Dying? NO!!!... But, it does kinda loosing it's charm...
> 
> ...



Now that would be fun. Getting more people into it by being an olympic sport.


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## uyneb2000 (Apr 20, 2013)

Everything you said is false. Also, I speedcube for fun.
By the way, it's funny how you pretty much made this account just to post this thread


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## chill011 (Apr 20, 2013)

YddEd said:


> Now that would be fun. Getting more people into it by being an olympic sport.



Joke all you want... 
Even though it's a long shot, it's the only goal that make sense. Allowing people to call it "a hobby" of playing with "the toys" sounds frivolous and degrading...


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## Renslay (Apr 20, 2013)

uyneb2000 said:


> By the way, it's funny how you pretty much made this account just to post this thread



Wanted to say the same.


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## kunparekh18 (Apr 20, 2013)

umadbro

just cuz you dont have comps in your area doesnt mean there are less comps worldwide got that


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## jayefbe (Apr 20, 2013)

First, please don't start a whole "this needs to be an olympic sport" ridiculousness. No, it shouldn't be. We solve puzzles, there's a competitive aspect to it. That doesn't make it an athletic sport. Speedcubing should not be placed in the same category as swimming or gymnastics (which is not a judgment of either). Being a part of the olympics is not the only way to make speedcubing a legitimate competitive event. The WCA is already doing an excellent job of that. 



chill011 said:


> Allowing people to call it "a hobby" of playing with "the toys" sounds frivolous and degrading...



Why? It IS a hobby. In many ways, these ARE toys. I absolutely love speedcubing, I spend a LOT of time doing it. That doesn't mean that I need to pretend it's more important than it actually is.


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## JasonK (Apr 20, 2013)

Literally nothing in the first post is true. This thread makes no sense...


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## rah4927 (Apr 20, 2013)

chill011 said:


> .
> 
> WCA should get serious and make a strategy
> for more intensive speedcubing afirmation worldwide,
> with final goal: GAINING RECOGNITION AS AN OLYMPIC SPORT!


 
Great idea ,but let's include blindfold chess as well,shall we?


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## BaMiao (Apr 20, 2013)

Nobody gets into speedcubing to make money.

Nobody gets into speedcubing to impress the ladies (or fellas).

People do it for fun. If you do it for any other reason, pick another hobby.

So, when you say it isn't popular...

...what exactly is the problem?


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## ottozing (Apr 20, 2013)

BaMiao said:


> Nobody gets into speedcubing to make money.
> 
> Nobody gets into speedcubing to impress the ladies (or fellas).
> 
> ...



Spot on mate.


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## Kirjava (Apr 20, 2013)

chechen said:


> - All records are at (or close to) maximum possible,



ahahahahaha


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## mycube (Apr 20, 2013)

the records are at (or close to) maximum possible?
No. A long time every one thought for 4x4 sub30 is impossible. now the WR is 26 and the UWR 21.xy. ~sub30 by a lot. So why should sub20 not be possible. Same for all other cubes! We don't know the limits yet.


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## rah4927 (Apr 20, 2013)

mycube said:


> the records are at (or close to) maximum possible?
> No. A long time every one thought for 4x4 sub30 is impossible. now the WR is 26 and the UWR 21.xy. ~sub30 by a lot. So why should sub20 not be possible. Same for all other cubes! We don't know the limits yet.



Couldn't have explined it better myself.


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## YddEd (Apr 20, 2013)

rah4927 said:


> Great idea ,*but let's include blindfold chess as well,shall we*?



Now that would be great, I would finally have the inspiration to start learning blindfold chess


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## omer (Apr 20, 2013)

This thread would have only made sense if the sole intention of cubing was to get it as popular as possible and to break as many records as possible, which is not true.

People cube for fun, I'm no way near world record speeds but I still really enjoy cubing. I enjoy breaking my own records, I enjoy learning new algorithms and I enjoy learning new methods and cool tricks. It's just fun to do, not everything is about being the best in the world.


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## applemobile (Apr 20, 2013)

I feel their are probably a lot of cubers around like me. I care not what other people do, i care not about competing, i care not about anyones cubing bar mine. I cube for my own entertainment and that's all.


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## Echo Cubing (Apr 20, 2013)

Agree! If there is an olympic sport for speedcubing,that would be ridiculous!

Speed cubing fulfilled my life


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## DavidCubie (Apr 20, 2013)

chechen said:


> Hmmm... Let's be honest for a minute or two...
> 
> 
> The speedcube world is fading... DYING as a matter of fact!
> ...



That's not true at all, I think that in the future it will be more and more cubers, as i started cubing, 10 of my friends also started.


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## YddEd (Apr 20, 2013)

DavidCubie said:


> That's not true at all, I think that in the future it will be more and more cubers, as i started cubing, 10 of my friends also started.


I got one of my friends into cubing too.


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## chill011 (Apr 20, 2013)

jayefbe said:


> First, please don't start a whole "this needs to be an olympic sport" ridiculousness. No, it shouldn't be. We solve puzzles, there's a competitive aspect to it. That doesn't make it an athletic sport. Speedcubing should not be placed in the same category as swimming or gymnastics (which is not a judgment of either). Being a part of the olympics is not the only way to make speedcubing a legitimate competitive event. The WCA is already doing an excellent job of that.


 

Don't twist my words, I never compared speedcubing with anything athletic or said that it should be a part of Olympics, all I said it needs to gain RECOGNITION as olympic sport (activity). Not all sports that IOC recognizes are part of Olympics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_sports)


It's all about getting RESPECT that speedcubing deserves. 

Being recognized by IOC would have a great positive impact on speedcubing itself.

Common man, look at some of the "sports" that IOC recognizes: Bridge, Chess, Boules, Bowling, Tug-Of-War... ?! ...Gimme a break...


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## Username (Apr 20, 2013)

YddEd said:


> I got one of my friends into cubing too.



I got a few too. 

Cubing is not a dying hobby, it's a growing hobby


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## hcfong (Apr 20, 2013)

Hm.. anyone remember this thread: http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?37822#post764293 ?

I wonder if it's the same person...


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## ryanj92 (Apr 20, 2013)

Idk about the story near you, but...
UK comps in 2011: 2
UK comps in 2012: 3
UK comps in 2013: 4 confirmed, at least two more on the cards and one of them is UK Open :b

come again?


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## JianhanC (Apr 20, 2013)

hcfong said:


> Hm.. anyone remember this thread: http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?37822#post764293 ?
> 
> I wonder if it's the same person...



The only other similarity both the OPs share, besides their viewpoints, are their seemingly Asian descent  I guess we'll never know.


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## DarioRubik (Apr 20, 2013)

ryanj92 said:


> Idk about the story near you, but...
> UK comps in 2011: 2
> UK comps in 2012: 3
> UK comps in 2013: 4 confirmed, at least two more on the cards and one of them is UK Open :b
> ...




same over here in Spain. Since December, we've had a comp EVERY SINGLE month , and we've got quite a few more coming. NO, speedcubing is by no means disappearing nor dying. Does the fact that probably no one will ever beat, let's say Messi or Michael Jordan in their respective sports mean people will stop practicing hard and making it something important? nope. Cubes will keep on improving as long as speedcubers buy them , and more and more people are learning to solve it and are even encouraged to compete ( i've got like 8-7 friends who got into it). And, remember, this is not an olympic sport as such, just something to have fun ans that's about it. I'm not even too sure if i'll quit cubing soon or not, but whenever i start feeling it's not important at all i'll probably quit, but knowing it's given me hours and hours of fun.


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## YddEd (Apr 20, 2013)

hcfong said:


> Hm.. anyone remember this thread: http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?37822#post764293 ?
> 
> I wonder if it's the same person...


In my opinion, I think this guy is just a teeny bit more positive.


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## ben1996123 (Apr 20, 2013)

chechen said:


> The speedcube world is fading... DYING as a matter of fact!


your wrong


chechen said:


> There are less and less cubers on competitions worldwide


your wrong


chechen said:


> There are less and less speedcubing video blogers


your wrong


chechen said:


> All records are at (or close to) maximum possible


your wrong


chechen said:


> All cubes are already designed perfectly (or close to)


your probably wrong


chechen said:


> Speedcubing will never get more popularity then what it has now...


your probably wrong


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## pjk (Apr 20, 2013)

chechen said:


> Hmmm... Let's be honest for a minute or two...
> 
> 
> The speedcube world is fading... DYING as a matter of fact!
> ...


You must be misinformed or making poor assumptions. Video blogging shows nothing about popularity, records are still being broken all the time (and even if they weren't that doesn't make it less popular), most puzzles still have lots of room for improvement, and traffic to this site has consistently grown over the last 85 consecutive months. Not to mention the puzzle business is growing consistently.


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## Poke2000 (Apr 20, 2013)

_ don't know. There used to be a lot of cubers in my school(dozens), but it has gone down to 2.  t doesn't seem to be spreading a lot in Edmonton._


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## cxinlee (Apr 20, 2013)

chechen said:


> Hmmm... Let's be honest for a minute or two...
> 
> 
> The speedcube world is fading... DYING as a matter of fact!
> ...


1. False. Back your statements with evidence
2. False. Same as above
3. False. There is no evidence to back your statements.
4. False. Same as everything else
5. False. No evidence.
Your points are all invalid without anything to support them.


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## Noahaha (Apr 20, 2013)

I think that speedcubing has made amazing progress in its short lifespan up to this point, and we have something now that is really good but has problems. That's not saying much on its own because (let's face it) pretty much every sport and sports organization has flaws even/especially at the professional level. 

My biggest problem with speedcubing is that it is extremely misunderstood. Most people think that the whole challenge is being able to solve one, and that's why do many of them either can't believe how amazing you are or say it's ridiculously easy. I'm fine with the community the size it is, but I'd love it if people on the street would see a good speedcuber like they see a good juggler, as someone with a talent they understand but don't to try to be good at.



Poke2000 said:


> _ don't know. There used to be a lot of cubers in my school(dozens), but it has gone down to 2.  t doesn't seem to be spreading a lot in Edmonton._


_

This is sad, but not representative of the general trend in speedcubing. No matter what you do, people are going to be stopping and starting._


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## Clarkeeyyy (Apr 20, 2013)

ryanj92 said:


> Idk about the story near you, but...
> UK comps in 2011: 2
> UK comps in 2012: 3
> UK comps in 2013: 4 confirmed, at least two more on the cards and one of them is UK Open :b
> ...



I hope there are more in Scotland in the coming years. I missed the edinburgh open due to exams


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## Ross The Boss (Apr 20, 2013)

did you just you get your opinion from a youtube comment or something? everything you said was wrong.


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## Cube-Fu (Apr 20, 2013)

It's like Bolt; the man broke the expected limit of the human body. The cube IS limited, but so are humans, so what are you crying about?


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## Musicalboy2 (Apr 20, 2013)

Poke2000 said:


> _ don't know. There used to be a lot of cubers in my school(dozens), but it has gone down to 2.  t doesn't seem to be spreading a lot in Edmonton._


_

It seems to me to be spreading in Edmonton. I've discovered groups of cubers springing up in various junior highs (DS, VB, Grandview a few years ago, for example.), although I'm not 100% sure this is still the case. Regardless, I think there's (at least close to) enough people for a decent competition now, I just need to finish tracking them all down... (and hopefully this will aid the growth of cubing in Edmonton)

Back to the original topic, even IF (which I don't it is) speedcubing is fading, it doesn't mean it has no future._


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## MirzaCubing (Apr 20, 2013)

hcfong said:


> Hm.. anyone remember this thread: http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?37822#post764293 ?
> 
> I wonder if it's the same person...



lol, all of those records except 6x6 have been broken. This is a clear indication that it's not impossible to keep advancing speedcubing and the world records.


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## avgdi (Apr 20, 2013)

chechen said:


> - There are less and less cubers on competitions worldwide,



Then why is it that there are ~5 new competitors at every comp I go to?

Also, even if speedcubing was "dying," that wouldn't stop me from doing it.


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## LNZ (Apr 20, 2013)

Even as a amateur part time puzzle solver who will never get any where near WR times, I will give my opinion on these claims.

1. There are less and less cubers on competitions worldwide,
2. There are less and less speedcubing video blogers,
3. All records are at (or close to) maximum possible,
4. All cubes are already designed perfectly (or close to),
5. Speedcubing will never get more popularity then what it has now...

1. False.

2. False. 

Even though some older and famous video bloggers have left the scene, people are taking their place in an ever increasing amounts.
I have watched hundreds of cubing / puzzle videos on Youtube since May 2009. My favourite is "Crazybadcuber".

3. False.

Unofficial WR's are lower than official WR's. 

People have got 4.5 seconds on a 3x3x3 cube and 22 seconds on a 4x4x4 cube.

4. False

Cube and puzzle technology is improving still!

5. False (but only as a non mainstream media covered event).

Claim 5 is true if you compare puzzle solving with the Rubik's cube craze of the early 1980's. I was there in 1980/1981 as a 10/11 year old
and in those years my parents brought me a Rubik's Cube to solve and even funded two solution books to help me solve it. Despite all that,
I could never solve a Rubik's Cube and gave up. In May 2009, I brought one of the books my parents got me in 1980/1 on Ebay and brought
a store brought cube to use. I found that I got the directions of D and D' wrong. Apart from that, I would of solved a 3x3x3 in 1981!
And since then I have solved a lot of puzzles, including many cuboids (ie 3x3x2, 3x3x4, 2x2x4, 2x3x4, etc) and cubes (from 2 to 9 layers and 11 layers).


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