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Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 21:56:22 +1000 (EST)
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To: Cube-Lovers@ai.mit.edu
From: pfoster@pcug.org.au (Peter Foster)
Subject: Re: Speed cubing results - March 99

>Almost everybody responded w/ a different preview time (anywhere from no
>preview to 15 seconds).  People like me who started cold had a
>disadvantage to those who had a preview.  A 15 second preview sounds
>good to me.  This gives enough time to familiarize oneself w/ the cube,
>look for pieces, and plan out the first few moves.  I've been timing
>myself cold which means much time is wasted at the beginning.  Having a
>preview helps a lot.

I would prefer that there is no preview time. Solving the cube isn't just 
turning the faces, it's also deciding which faces to turn. Surely, time spent 
in examining the cube is therefore part of the solving time.

>When it comes to averages, I guess there is no standard.  I agree w/
>disregarding the high & low extremes though.  They can distort the
>average (arithmetic mean).  This should give a more accurate
>representation.  Also, the more entries calculated into the average the
>better.

I used to do a run of 11, then take the median (middle) value. 

Cheers
_______________________________________________________________
Peter Foster        
pfoster@pcug.org.au

[Moderator's note: While would I avoid previews in principle, I
 understand that the official contests were carried out with a free
 preview period.  It seems unavoidable that we qualify all our records
 with the conditions under which they are measured--with or without
 preview; best score, average, or median; by sight or by touch; in air
 or underwater; solo or mixed doubles; etc. --Dan ]