From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Fri Apr 23 11:39:54 1999 Return-Path: Received: from sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil (sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil [132.250.84.38]) by mc.lcs.mit.edu (8.9.1a/8.9.1-mod) with SMTP id LAA17131 for ; Fri, 23 Apr 1999 11:39:53 -0400 (EDT) Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Message-Id: <371FCBE9.6DE8069@ibm.net> Date: Thu, 22 Apr 1999 18:24:57 -0700 From: "Jin 'Time Traveler' Kim" Reply-To: chrono@ibm.net To: cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu Subject: Re: Rubiks Cube, Megaminx and Square-1 References: <3718413B.251EE6E0@okanagan.net> The only record for a 4x4x4 I saw was 117 or 170+ seconds, I can't remember which. BTW, that was my web page you visited. :) The reason I think that the Square-1 is rated so high is because it "mutates" in form and shape as you twist it. All other puzzles remain mechanically symmetrical to themselves (even the pyramorphix, while changing shape, is still the same basic architecture underneath). The Square-1's possible moves change as you mix it, causing an extra level of confusion. Does this make it tougher to solve? Learning to solve puzzles by yourself is great. Unlike some others on the cube list, I've always relied on intuition and mental picturing to make all of my moves. This has allowed me to solve puzzles since I was about six years old. The only puzzles I have been unable to solve this way are the Rubik's Cube series (2^3 through 5^3), specifically the corner moves. Everything else I was able to do independently at one Time or another including the center pieces on the 4x4x4 and 5x5x5. A quick anecdote. For the longest Time I didn't bother scrambling my Geomaster Masterball for fear of messing it up. That barrier was overcome when a friend of mine inadvertently scrambled it for me. 14 hours of hair pulling later I came up with a "logical" solution for it (that actually helped me solve the Dogic later). Of course, shortly afterwards they sold Masterballs with solutions far simpler than mine, but I still prefer using my method, because it's mine. -- Jin "Time Traveler" Kim chrono@ibm.net http://www.chrono.org '95 PGT - SCPOC