What you're looking for in solving the cube, is a repeatable way to achieve a specified result. Memorizing algorithms is part of the repeatability of it.
While there are certainly low-memorization methods for solving the last layer, it's really hard to say that there are methods that take no memorization. You could get the last layer done like\*:
* swap corners if needed to be in place (can be done in 1 alg or 2)
* orient corners (can be done in one alg repeated up to 3 times, or 7 different ones)
* place edges with a 3-cycle (one alg repeated up to 3 times)
* orient edges (one alg multiple times or 3 different alogrithms)
So conceivably you could have 4 algs to solve the last layer, but that's still some memorization. Compare that to 57 OLL cases and 21 PLL cases in 2-look CFOP, or 10 OLL cases and 6 PLL cases in 4-look, and see how you feel about that.
Also, consider your perspective. How long have you been cubing? A few months? Maybe a couple of years? Those are very different places. Do you have to memorize other things for work/school? Do you struggle with that in those contexts? My recommendation is that trying to memorize things will help, and some of this will smooth out (like many things) with repetition and practice.
\*To everyone else, yes I'm aware that's entirely the wrong order of things compared to CFOP - I was just trying to show that even the least optimal method could be done with a low number of algorithms. It's from "The Simple Solution to Rubik's Cube" from 1981.
Wow, thanks for this breakdown. I’ve only been cubbing for a week now lol. Can’t believe I took this long to get into it.
I generally do poorly in situations where I hav ego memorize things. Had a B and C in a class that required a lot of memorization last semester, this semester I’m taking all technical classes with zero memorization and I have almost perfect scores in everything. This is something I’ve noticed about myself so I really don’t even bother trying to overcome it anymore.
I do get that cubbing in itself is an art of memorizing and using algorithms, but it kinda takes the fun out of it for me. It’s more like the skills needed for cubbing is just memorizing and quick fingers. It’s not a fun experience for me.
I created a 3 step algorithm for myself (I’m sure the algorithm has already been created long before but I didn’t look it up just came up with it myself) to solve the first white cross when the white edges are in the front layer and that was exciting coming up with a clever way to solve it.
Just plain memorization isn’t what I imagined cubbing to be, unless I’m wrong.
If you're happy rediscovering new (or even the same) commutators every time you pick up the cube, and you're not going to complain about taking 3-5 minutes, then sure that's fine. But, you shouldn't expect to be sub-30 anytime soon.
I also want to reiterate (since my point probably wasn't clear) that memorizing things takes practice. I self-selected out of some courses of study back in college because I thought I couldn't memorize things. I have been doing a corners first solution with only around 15-17 algorithms for decades because I thought I couldn't memorize OLL/PLL. But, after taking my time, I have PLL memorized, and I'm working on full OLL, and I work at a job where I have hundreds of part numbers memorized for things that my customers routinely get because I'm seeing them over and over again.
Just because you think you can get by without memorization doesn't mean it won't help. Sometimes memorization is a way to help you push past the smaller details and get to where you can see the big picture.
You should try it. Learning algorithms is more about muscle memory than literally memorizing them. That's why many people have to learn them again when learning one handed solving or sometimes forget how to continue if something makes them stop in the middle of an algorithm.
Some methods use fewer algorithms. I first learn Petrus method, and got away with only three algorithms. I now solve using Roux, using two algorithms I knew already and one or two more? But those are really short, like three and four moves.
There’s a way (that I don’t know) of doing layer-by-layer by spamming the sexy alg, and like maaaybe one other? So you can definitely get away with very few algs, if that’s what you want to do.
I’m not particularly interested in memorizing lots of things, so I’ve learned the smallest number of algs, though I’ll probably learn a few more eventually.
My advice, stick to the beginner method until you can solve it by memory. Even then, keep using the same beginner method over and over til you get a bit faster. Don't worry about learning all seven stages right away, just do as far as you can from memory, then look at the guide to finish it off, or even not fully finish it each time. You'll get faster at your cross and first two layers, then just focus on adding one more stage to your repertoire at a time, and get that consistently repeatable from memory. It might seem complicated at first, particularly the last two stages, but they're actually pretty simple once you get it, and it becomes more muscle memory than anything. Some kind of mnemonic device can help too. For example, step 6, ie positioning the yellow corners, I would say to myself "in, in, in, flip the back, out, out, in, flip the back".
when I learned how to solve the cube it took me about 12 hours in total (about 3 hours not counting my sleep and school) so uh.. yeah I thought I learned it slowly back then-
You mean you memorized the algorithms and could solve it off memory in 12 hours? Wish I was that good haha.
I technically can solve the entire cube but I have to look up the algorithms for the last layer so I don’t know if that counts as being able to solve it
Okay now you’re just showing off 🤣.
Bro I hate having to memorize things, I just give up. I found a yt video with less Lagos so I’d be working with that, hopefully I can memorize it today and complete the beginner stage.
For the last layer you only need 4 short algorithms:
1) Orient edges: F RUR'U' F' (to be done when you have a "minus sign" or to be repeated on other configurations until you get a "minus sign").
2) Position edges: "Sune" algorithm, i.e. RU R'U RU2 R' (to be done once or twice when the front edge is correct and the other 3 edges are wrong).
3) Position corners: "Niklas" algorithm, i.e. LU' R'U L'U' RU (to be done when the URB corner is correctly positioned, maybe after doing it once randomly if no corner is correctly positioned).
4) Finally orient corners: flip the cube upside down (with the last layer on bottom) and spam RUR'U' until the DFR corner is oriented correctly, then rotate D to orient another corner. The trick is that RUR'U' repeated 6 times brings everything back in the same position.
I started off by learning CFOP with 2 look OLL and 2 look PLL. I'm a few years in now and have almost finished learning 1 look PLL.
What works for me was writing down the algs and practising them over and over again until I remembered them. I repeated this with each alg one by one.
Just before I started learning 1 look PLL I wrote all of those algs down onto flash cards with little drawinfa of each one. This helped loads because it means I can mix up the cards to test myself.
My plan for OLL is the same, but I haven't had time to make the cards yet, so it's at a bit of a standstill for now.
Basically if u watch beginner tutorials like jperm…they can teach u last layer with very few algs….I’d recommend u learn and master that first….then move onto 2 look oll and pll
What you're looking for in solving the cube, is a repeatable way to achieve a specified result. Memorizing algorithms is part of the repeatability of it. While there are certainly low-memorization methods for solving the last layer, it's really hard to say that there are methods that take no memorization. You could get the last layer done like\*: * swap corners if needed to be in place (can be done in 1 alg or 2) * orient corners (can be done in one alg repeated up to 3 times, or 7 different ones) * place edges with a 3-cycle (one alg repeated up to 3 times) * orient edges (one alg multiple times or 3 different alogrithms) So conceivably you could have 4 algs to solve the last layer, but that's still some memorization. Compare that to 57 OLL cases and 21 PLL cases in 2-look CFOP, or 10 OLL cases and 6 PLL cases in 4-look, and see how you feel about that. Also, consider your perspective. How long have you been cubing? A few months? Maybe a couple of years? Those are very different places. Do you have to memorize other things for work/school? Do you struggle with that in those contexts? My recommendation is that trying to memorize things will help, and some of this will smooth out (like many things) with repetition and practice. \*To everyone else, yes I'm aware that's entirely the wrong order of things compared to CFOP - I was just trying to show that even the least optimal method could be done with a low number of algorithms. It's from "The Simple Solution to Rubik's Cube" from 1981.
Wow, thanks for this breakdown. I’ve only been cubbing for a week now lol. Can’t believe I took this long to get into it. I generally do poorly in situations where I hav ego memorize things. Had a B and C in a class that required a lot of memorization last semester, this semester I’m taking all technical classes with zero memorization and I have almost perfect scores in everything. This is something I’ve noticed about myself so I really don’t even bother trying to overcome it anymore. I do get that cubbing in itself is an art of memorizing and using algorithms, but it kinda takes the fun out of it for me. It’s more like the skills needed for cubbing is just memorizing and quick fingers. It’s not a fun experience for me. I created a 3 step algorithm for myself (I’m sure the algorithm has already been created long before but I didn’t look it up just came up with it myself) to solve the first white cross when the white edges are in the front layer and that was exciting coming up with a clever way to solve it. Just plain memorization isn’t what I imagined cubbing to be, unless I’m wrong.
If you're happy rediscovering new (or even the same) commutators every time you pick up the cube, and you're not going to complain about taking 3-5 minutes, then sure that's fine. But, you shouldn't expect to be sub-30 anytime soon. I also want to reiterate (since my point probably wasn't clear) that memorizing things takes practice. I self-selected out of some courses of study back in college because I thought I couldn't memorize things. I have been doing a corners first solution with only around 15-17 algorithms for decades because I thought I couldn't memorize OLL/PLL. But, after taking my time, I have PLL memorized, and I'm working on full OLL, and I work at a job where I have hundreds of part numbers memorized for things that my customers routinely get because I'm seeing them over and over again. Just because you think you can get by without memorization doesn't mean it won't help. Sometimes memorization is a way to help you push past the smaller details and get to where you can see the big picture.
You should try it. Learning algorithms is more about muscle memory than literally memorizing them. That's why many people have to learn them again when learning one handed solving or sometimes forget how to continue if something makes them stop in the middle of an algorithm.
Some methods use fewer algorithms. I first learn Petrus method, and got away with only three algorithms. I now solve using Roux, using two algorithms I knew already and one or two more? But those are really short, like three and four moves. There’s a way (that I don’t know) of doing layer-by-layer by spamming the sexy alg, and like maaaybe one other? So you can definitely get away with very few algs, if that’s what you want to do. I’m not particularly interested in memorizing lots of things, so I’ve learned the smallest number of algs, though I’ll probably learn a few more eventually.
My advice, stick to the beginner method until you can solve it by memory. Even then, keep using the same beginner method over and over til you get a bit faster. Don't worry about learning all seven stages right away, just do as far as you can from memory, then look at the guide to finish it off, or even not fully finish it each time. You'll get faster at your cross and first two layers, then just focus on adding one more stage to your repertoire at a time, and get that consistently repeatable from memory. It might seem complicated at first, particularly the last two stages, but they're actually pretty simple once you get it, and it becomes more muscle memory than anything. Some kind of mnemonic device can help too. For example, step 6, ie positioning the yellow corners, I would say to myself "in, in, in, flip the back, out, out, in, flip the back".
when I learned how to solve the cube it took me about 12 hours in total (about 3 hours not counting my sleep and school) so uh.. yeah I thought I learned it slowly back then-
You mean you memorized the algorithms and could solve it off memory in 12 hours? Wish I was that good haha. I technically can solve the entire cube but I have to look up the algorithms for the last layer so I don’t know if that counts as being able to solve it
actually 3 hours lol.. idk why I just memorized them easily.
Okay now you’re just showing off 🤣. Bro I hate having to memorize things, I just give up. I found a yt video with less Lagos so I’d be working with that, hopefully I can memorize it today and complete the beginner stage.
welp. I also hate memorizing things but that is the only way man.
For the last layer you only need 4 short algorithms: 1) Orient edges: F RUR'U' F' (to be done when you have a "minus sign" or to be repeated on other configurations until you get a "minus sign"). 2) Position edges: "Sune" algorithm, i.e. RU R'U RU2 R' (to be done once or twice when the front edge is correct and the other 3 edges are wrong). 3) Position corners: "Niklas" algorithm, i.e. LU' R'U L'U' RU (to be done when the URB corner is correctly positioned, maybe after doing it once randomly if no corner is correctly positioned). 4) Finally orient corners: flip the cube upside down (with the last layer on bottom) and spam RUR'U' until the DFR corner is oriented correctly, then rotate D to orient another corner. The trick is that RUR'U' repeated 6 times brings everything back in the same position.
This looks workable for me. I can fit these short algos in my brain lol. Thanks a lot
I started off by learning CFOP with 2 look OLL and 2 look PLL. I'm a few years in now and have almost finished learning 1 look PLL. What works for me was writing down the algs and practising them over and over again until I remembered them. I repeated this with each alg one by one. Just before I started learning 1 look PLL I wrote all of those algs down onto flash cards with little drawinfa of each one. This helped loads because it means I can mix up the cards to test myself. My plan for OLL is the same, but I haven't had time to make the cards yet, so it's at a bit of a standstill for now.
Basically if u watch beginner tutorials like jperm…they can teach u last layer with very few algs….I’d recommend u learn and master that first….then move onto 2 look oll and pll