# Rubik's Speech



## Faz (Aug 11, 2009)

Hey

I have been asked to do a speech for a youth group this Friday, about 15 minutes long. I have a few ideas lined up, but I doubt it'll fill 15 minutes.

I was thinking something along the lines of:

5 mins: Intro, solves, speedcubing world, show some puzzles talk about my records, 
5-10 minutes: Other material? This is what I need you guys to help with.
I might go over some methods for solving the cube, but it might be too complicated, or boring.
Rest would be just answering questions.

So, do you guys have any ideas for my speech?

If so, please post below. Thanks!

Feliks


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## deepSubDiver (Aug 11, 2009)

how about a solving walkthrough? how large is that group?


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## JTW2007 (Aug 11, 2009)

That's cool! My only suggestion would be to involve the audience. We had the idea of doing scrambling to solving races with a spectator (you solve 3 cubes while they scramble 3) for booth a few months ago. Maybe you could also go into some of the theory?


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## CharlieCooper (Aug 11, 2009)

whenever i've done this i've just gone through in various steps that are easy to grasp by the audience, i.e., with petrus, "i just make a block like this.... make it a bit bigger... then extend it to complete to layers of the puzzle" then i must learn a variety of algs for the last layer. or something like that.

you could get the audience to scramble for you...


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## Faz (Aug 11, 2009)

Yeah, keep 'em comin'


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## Novriil (Aug 11, 2009)

first start with 3x3-s and talk about methods, speeds, blindfolds, OH-s and stuff. Then take 2x2. you can even show 1x1  Those are easy puzzles. Then take some pyraminxes, megaminxes, magic-s and stuff. These are awkward and I guess they are fun too. And when you have few minutes, then take those 4x4-s and until 7x7. About those they will be impressed. Also let them scramble you're cubes as said before and You can give them to various people for "race" or something, that They could solve it faster than You or at least try to solve them.. So take a bunch of cubes.. also say that they wouldn't peel off the stickers or take them apart


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## StachuK1992 (Aug 11, 2009)

show them the sexy move.
Then have some audience participants have a sexymove-off.
See who can do it 6x the fastest.
That whole 'act' should take a minute or 2.


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## andatude (Aug 11, 2009)

Don't distract the audience so much that they begin not to listen.


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## Lumej (Aug 12, 2009)

Okay....
You need a good intro, something that will catch them…. If you have a good start, they will keep listening. But I don’t think you’ll have problems with them not listening because the Rubik’s Cube it quite an interesting topic, even for non-cubers.

anyway:
- You could tell them something about Erno Rubik and the history of cubing, and the history of speedcubing, maybe even about the history of the WCA…?
- You could take a 3x3x3 apart and show them the inner mechanism.
- You could, if you have access to a computer, show them Erik’s World Record – Video, or generally, with each new puzzle you introduce you could tell them the world record of said puzzle.
- I would go through a solve slowly, too. Explain the steps, to take away the mystery of solving the cube. The mystery of solving the cube _fast _will still stay, though. =)
- If you give the cubes to the audience, chances are, someone will pop a cube. In that case you would have to explain about how one edge can’t be flipped and two corners can’t be swapped… but I think letting them actually touch the cubes is important.



fazrulz said:


> 5 mins: Intro, solves, speedcubing world, show some puzzles talk about my records,




- I wouldn’t squeeze all that into the first 5 minutes. I think it would actually take longer than 5 minutes. How about putting “other puzzles” into the second section?
- Oh, and I would do the same as Novriil suggested: start with 3x3, then 2x2, then 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, and then 7x7. They’ll probably be like: What? Another one? =)
- Answering questions is a really really good idea!

Just my two cents =) and I can tell you, if I were to make that speech, it would take longer than 15 minutes.


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## Faz (Aug 12, 2009)

Ok, I've got a basic outline for the speech, most of this is just me jotting down ideas in the worst grammar ever. 


Here are my notes:

Intro, name, discuss what a cube is, Erno Rubik hungary 1974

Media stuff

350 mill most sold puzzle all time

Cube is made up of 21 pieces, including core corner 3 stickers edge 2 stickers. Ima show you how to solve it later fixed center piece. Take a 3x3 apart

43 quintillion positions meaning if we got every possible position of a cube it would layer the earth 270 times

Do a solve talk about stackmat timer, then talk about WR and my records 31st in the world. Average format, take out best and worst. Pb solve is 7.12

Hand out 3x3’s, tell about popping and not to peel stickers. Don’t be too harsh. Tell them to pass around.

Talk about bld solves and OH

WCA, organisation which runs official competitions all around the world, mainly in Europe and USA. None in Aus yet. Planning for December. Speedcubing is growing, more than 2 competitions each weekend around the world. WC in October in germany.

2x2, through 7x7, talk about the WR’s. Pass them around, tell people to be very careful. 5x5 5th in the world.

Shape shifting, megaminx, magic, sq1 – turn it. Pass around, except the magic.

Slow solve, explain what I’m doing. Layer by layer. Explain what algorithms are. Tell them to search the internet for tuts.

Solve

Question time, collect the cubes, and just solve them while they’re asking questions.


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## Faz (Aug 14, 2009)

Haha, it was really fun. There were about 15 kids (12-17 yrs), and most of them had bought cubes, and brought them along. I ended up talking and doing stuff for about an hour. I memoed the cube, they turned the lights off, and I did a successful BLD solve.


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## Lorenzo (Aug 14, 2009)

so how was the actual speech?


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## Faz (Aug 14, 2009)

Well, it was quite good. Idk, I just talked about other random stuff too.


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## Toad (Aug 14, 2009)

Sounds awesome!! Well done man


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## mattrulz13 (Aug 14, 2009)

lol - and u were worrying about if it would go 4 10 min


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## Faz (Aug 14, 2009)

Lol jarretsky


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