in another thread, someone was asking about how old were cubers when
they figured it out on their own (without being taught or reading
from a book).
I was 11, well actually almost 12. did it during summer break back
in 1981. There wasn't anyone else I knew that could do it, though I
had one friend (who was at the time basically my only friend) who
was a little interested in trying to figure it out, but not quite as
obsessed as I was.
Figuring it out took an awful lot of patience and thinking and trial
and error--basically, my whole summer. Obviously, there would not
be anywhere near as many cubers if we restricted it to only those
who actually figured it out on their own--sure, many people can
figure it out, but how many have the time or interest or
determination to figure it out? But only those who have figured it
out on their own know the feeling you get when you can put those
last couple of pieces of the puzzle back in place without any help.
It was a real confidence booster and a watershed point in my life.
In the 6th grade, I was a loner, a wallflower, very shy,
introverted, and very much a nerd. I ate my sack lunch by myself
then went to the library. I didn't talk to or play with other kids
at recess. Then 7th grade started, and when people found out I
could solve the cube, they wanted a demonstration so I would solve
it for them at lunch--eventually I started to charge people 25 cents
to do it, and kids would gather round and watch and I guess it was
basically what I needed to come out of my shell a little, and that
year I stopped staring at the floor all the time and started to have
confidence in myself and I formed many very good friendships (though
ironically none of my friends ever really did learn how to solve the
cube). You can look at pictures of me from the 6th to the 7th and
you can see a real transformation. Maybe it would have happened
without the cube, or would have been just the same if I had just
learned how to do it from someone else, but it was definitely a
catalyst.
My method was just a simple layer by layer, with a few algs for what
we would call a 4 look LL. I could get the F2L very early on, but
the LL is what took me most of the summer to figure out. By the
time school started 7th grade I could do it in about a minute and a
half.
I think I was lucky the internet wasn't around back then, becuase I
probably would have just looked up some solution and learned it, and
I'm glad I did it on my own.
But I never would have become a speedcuber if I hadn't looked up
other algs on the Internet and learned from others, so you could say
that deprived me of the chance to become a speedcuber on my own, and
that's just fine with me...
--Kirk
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