Solving the Rubik’s cube like this is sheer madness. His secret: he has memorized 3915 algorithms

The skill with which some people solve the Rubik’s cube is amazing. For anyone unfamiliar with this puzzle and facing it for the first time, solving it will require considerable effort. In fact, he probably won’t even complete it on his first try. However, there are people who manage to finish it in just a handful of seconds after, yes, having practiced a lot.

Working with this puzzle allows us to develop some of our abilities, such as hand-eye coordination, spatial perception, the ability to develop strategies or memory. Yes, also memory, especially if we intend solve it in the shortest possible time. In fact, this is one of the hardest working skills for Rubik’s Cube enthusiasts who compete to complete it in record time. The protagonist of this article is one of them.

Algorithms make the difference in competition with Rubik’s cube

Some people take the Rubik’s cube very seriously. At least seriously enough to spend many hours studying the algorithms that can help them complete it with a speed that is beyond their reach without resorting to a well-defined strategy. And works. In fact, they are a very valuable resource commonly used by racing enthusiasts.

The notion of algorithm in this field is the same with which we are familiar in the context of computer science and mathematics: it is a sequence of clearly defined steps that aims to achieve a certain goal. There are even symbologies expressly designed to encode these algorithms, such as Singmaster notationwhich is probably the most popular of them all.

There are many people who manage to solve the Rubik’s cube in a very short time thanks to these procedures, but the enthusiast to whom we dedicate this article, who is the owner of the Twitter account @edmarterhas achieved something unheard of: he has memorized the 3915 algorithms that allow you to solve the last section of the Rubik’s cube, which is the most complicated part of the challenge, in the shortest possible time.

As it explains @glacierrealan average skilled competitor is capable of learning between 80 and 120 algorithms with the purpose of solving the last part of the puzzle in two different phases, but our protagonist has managed to memorize the 3915 procedures that it is necessary to know to be able to complete the last stage of the Rubik’s cube in the minimum possible time.

something absolutely insane just happened in the speedcubing (competitive rubik’s cube solving) community and i had no idea about it. this kid just learned how to skip the entire last layer by learning 3915 algorithms for every possible case

what the fuck pic.twitter.com/i1am7jOUfU

— asimp steppe (@glaciereal) August 12, 2022

However, there is still another shocking fact that is worth not overlooking. The learning capacity and the amazing memory of this enthusiast have allowed him, it seems, to internalize nothing less than 144 algorithms per day. There is no doubt that, if so, it is amazing. The video that we published above is impressive and puts on the table in a resounding way his ability and the speed with which he identifies which is the algorithm that allows him to solve each distribution of the Rubik’s cube. Spectacular.

Cover image: Marko Blazević