I can’t explain the joy that you’ll experience when you solve a Rubiks cube in front of someone (or a set of people) and then toss it off with all the cubes in its place. You have to experience it yourself.
Will talk about ‘tossing’ a little later.(and if I don’t, remind me).
Before I start facts and fictions about Rubik’s cube, my credits to 4 people without whom I wouldn’t have learnt this art.
1. Mr. Mark Jeays – who explained the physics behind the cube.
2. Mr. Bodsd – who translated Mr. Mark’s explanation to something which I can understand.
3. Mr Ashok Vedagiri – for pestering me to blog
4. and last but not the least, Mr. Erno Rubik for inventing this toy which can be played all through your life and still find it new & exciting every time you solve it.
Solving rubik’s cube has been my favorite timepass for the last couple of months and I might’ve solved it, may be 250 times and am pretty sure all 250 of them were unique combinations.
Read on to know a little more about this toy.
Wiki says “Rubik's Cube or Rubix Cube is a mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by the Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. The plastic cube comes in five different versions: the 2×2×2 ("Pocket Cube"), the 3×3×3, the 4×4×4 ("Rubik's Revenge"), 5×5×5 ("Professor's Cube"), and the 6×6×6 cube. The 3×3×3 version, which is the version usually meant by the term "Rubik's Cube," has nine square faces on each side, for a total area of fifty-four faces, and occupies the volume of twenty-six unit cubes (not counting the invisible cube in the centre). Typically, the faces of the Cube are covered by stickers in six solid colors, one for each side of the Cube. When the puzzle is solved, each side of the Cube is a solid color. The original 3×3×3 version celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2005, when a special edition Cube in a presentation box was released, featuring a sticker in the centre of the white face (which was replaced with a reflective surface) with a "Rubik's Cube 1980-2005" logo”
I told you earlier that I might’ve solved it 250 times and each time it was unique. Sounds like a cock and bull story isn’t?. The fact it has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 unique combinations and this is just the number of possible positions. The number of solutions are a much bigger number and knowing that number is of no relevance to anyone.
Its humanly impossible to find out all such combinations and solve it too given a very small life. So that makes this toy a one of its kind. Anyone at any age can find it interesting to solve it.
How I reached the pinnacle: It was a Saturday night, when 3 of us (Amit sharma, Bodsd & myself) had a light dinner at GK and went back to my place. After discussing about cars, home interiors et al with Bodsd, I crashed onto my Bed at about 4 in the morning. Bodsd had a flight to catch at 7 and if he goes to sleep, he is not going to make it to the lane. So he kept himself amused by fixing the Rubik’s cube lying near by cot. When I woke up, the cube was fixed, Without giving much attention to the cube we went to the airport. When I came back I was wondering how on earth one could fix a Rubik’s cube. Bodsd flew to the U.S and we met up again after 3 or 4 months. During these days I did not shuffle the cube and was trying to understand the solution. Googled and found few forums where they discuss about solving it blind folded, solving with one hand etc, but never could make any sense and was thinking this is for people from Mars.
Client’s place is a good place to venture into all these isn’t? I was in U.S and visited Bodsd’s place almost every day for dinner. Thanks to P2k & Bodsd for the amazing food and hospitality. They are simply superb hosts. While P2k was cooking, the only thing that Bodsd & myself were discussing was on the Rubik’s cube solutions. There were times when I called him on his mobile when I was stuck with the solutions. After 6 full days of trying “I SOLVED IT”. I felt like I had wings to fly which many other human being din’t have. Since then I have been solving it whenever I get a chance to. I started carrying it in my pocket when I went to restaurants, when I go for a walk, and once when I was in a movie. Now I solve it in about 6 to 8 mins on an average with 100 to 130 moves. I know am a kid in front of millions of Rubik’s cube solvers who do it more efficiently, but am still above billions of people who don’t know how to solve it
This is one toy I’ll cherish and play for the rest of my life.
Coming to the ‘tossing’. When bodsd first solved it, he tossed it off his hand onto the sofa giving a gesture that this isn’t a big deal and that he can do it with so much ease. I like the way he tossed it and I do that too in front of others, afterall showoff is honey for some and beer for others.:-). Now I realize that the pleasure derived by tossing it off is more than solving it.
