From @mitvma.mit.edu,@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU:BRYAN@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU Sat Dec 4 09:49:17 1993 Return-Path: <@mitvma.mit.edu,@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU:BRYAN@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU> Received: from mitvma.mit.edu by life.ai.mit.edu (4.1/AI-4.10) for /com/archive/cube-lovers id AA06967; Sat, 4 Dec 93 09:49:17 EST Message-Id: <9312041449.AA06967@life.ai.mit.edu> Received: from MITVMA.MIT.EDU by mitvma.mit.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9070; Sat, 04 Dec 93 09:18:44 EST Received: from WVNVM.WVNET.EDU (NJE origin MAILER@WVNVM) by MITVMA.MIT.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 0830; Sat, 4 Dec 1993 09:18:44 -0500 Received: from WVNVM.WVNET.EDU (NJE origin BRYAN@WVNVM) by WVNVM.WVNET.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 0521; Sat, 4 Dec 1993 09:15:57 -0500 X-Acknowledge-To: Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1993 09:15:56 EST From: "Jerry Bryan" To: "Cube Lovers List" Subject: First Post This is my first post to Cube-Lovers, so I will introduce myself briefly. I have been cubing since about 1979 or 1980 or so when the cubes first appeared on the market. I have been cubing with a computer since about 1985, and have been active on the Internet since about 1985 (purely a coincidence of dates). I have looked for years for a cubing list, and never found one until now. I always looked for "Rubik" (or sometimes "Rubic"). For some silly reason, it never occurred to me to look for "cube". I have long since read Hofstadter's two Scientific American articles, as well as the reprints in METAMAGICAL THEMAS. The reprints, by the way, are excellent because of the additional information in the appendices. I also have a copy of Singmaster and Frey's HANDBOOK OF CUBIC MATH. I have tried unsuccessfully for years to get copies of Singmaster's earlier work -- the circulars, for example. However, I suspect that the HANDBOOK includes most if not all of the earlier material. Also, (and you won't believe this) I have just read all thirteen years of the archives of Cube-Lovers. My primary interest has been in calculating God's Algorithm. I am interested in brute force breadth first tree searches. In other words, my work is akin to the solutions of the 2x2x2 and the corners of the 3x3x3 posted by Dan Hoey and others. It is not akin to Thistlethwaite's methods. I am interested to see, however, that major recent progress appears to have been made on Thistlewaite's method. I have calculated God's Algorithm for the 2x2x2 cube and the corners of the 3x3x3. My results agree with those that have been posted here, with the exception that my search is 48 times smaller (24*2), due to the exploitation of a rotation and reflection group of the cube. I have also calculated God's Algorithm for the edges of the 3x3x3. This is a much larger problem, and took about a year running continuously on two machines. The resulting output file is about 4.2 gigabytes of data, and is stored on 31 reels of magnetic tape. This result includes the "48 times smaller" factor, else it would have been 204 gigabytes of data stored on 1464 reels of magnetic tape. I understand that this list has been very quiet of late. But assuming some modicum of interest, I will post more details of my results in subsequent messages. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Robert G. Bryan (Jerry Bryan) (304) 293-5192 Associate Director, WVNET (304) 293-5540 fax 837 Chestnut Ridge Road BRYAN@WVNVM Morgantown, WV 26505 BRYAN@WVNVM.WVNET.EDU If you don't have time to do it right today, what makes you think you are going to have time to do it over again tomorrow?