Is Rubik's Cube Worth Our Time?

  • Thread starter Thread starter C0nfused
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Cube Time
C0nfused
Messages
139
Reaction score
0
Hi everybody,
I am sure this has been talked about before but I still want to ask: is Rubik's cube worth our time? I mean is it really worth spending hours/days/... trying to solve it?I have been trying for some time but i haven't found the solution yet. It's really challenging in my opinion but i don't know if i should keep on trying. Of course it's also important in what way you are searching for the solution. Random movements absolutely can't give you the solution and add nothing to your way of thinking...
I am aslo trying to find its connection, if there is any, with mathematics.
I am waiting to hear your opinions especially from those that have solved it without any hints or help.

P.S:I really didin't know where to post it but I think this has to do with mathematics
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
You can apply group theory to the Rubik's Cube: each action you take can be interpreted as a permutation on 48 elements (the 48 movable faces).
 
It's kind of a study in symmetry. Rather than trying to solve it right off, learn how to make different moves ... how to switch two cubes in various positions.

Once you learn enough moves, solving it is doable.

Easiest way to learn the moves is to cheat. Always start from all the colors configured correctly. If you try a sequence and don't remember the way back (either because you made a mistake in one of your moves or because you have a bad memory), pull it apart and reassemble it so you can always start from a good configuration.
 
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. In Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics published in 1930 he introduced a “convenient notation” he referred to as a “delta function” which he treated as a continuum analog to the discrete Kronecker delta. The Kronecker delta is simply the indexed components of the identity operator in matrix algebra Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/what-exactly-is-diracs-delta-function/ by...
Fermat's Last Theorem has long been one of the most famous mathematical problems, and is now one of the most famous theorems. It simply states that the equation $$ a^n+b^n=c^n $$ has no solutions with positive integers if ##n>2.## It was named after Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665). The problem itself stems from the book Arithmetica by Diophantus of Alexandria. It gained popularity because Fermat noted in his copy "Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et...
Thread 'Imaginary Pythagorus'
I posted this in the Lame Math thread, but it's got me thinking. Is there any validity to this? Or is it really just a mathematical trick? Naively, I see that i2 + plus 12 does equal zero2. But does this have a meaning? I know one can treat the imaginary number line as just another axis like the reals, but does that mean this does represent a triangle in the complex plane with a hypotenuse of length zero? Ibix offered a rendering of the diagram using what I assume is matrix* notation...
Back
Top