Can I Learn the Cube in 24 Hours?

The Rubik's Cube is the ultimate symbol of "Smart". But is it intelligence, or just memorization? I bought a $10 speed cube and opened a YouTube tutorial.

Hour 1: The White Cross

This part is intuitive. You just line up the white pieces. I felt like a genius. "This is easy," I thought. I was wrong.

Hour 4: The Algorithms (F2L)

To solve the middle layer, you can't just move things. You have to perform "Algorithms" — sequences of moves that swap pieces without breaking what you already built.

The Move: R U R' U' (Right Up, Right-Inverted, Up-Inverted).

My fingers felt like clumsy sausages. I kept messing up one turn and scrambling the whole cube. Frustration level: 9/10.

Hour 12: The Yellow Face (OLL/PLL)

It was 2 AM. I was hallucinating colorful squares. The final layer requires memorizing long strings: `R U R' U R U2 R'`.

I wrote them on my arm. I repeated them like a mantra.

Hour 23: The Speed Run

I had successfully solved it once (taking 15 minutes). Now I needed to do it fast.

The Final Result

Best Time: 1 minute 15 seconds.

I am not a speedcuber. But I can solve it definitively.

What I learned

Solving a Rubik's cube has zero to do with math. It is 100% muscle memory. It is like learning a piano chord. Your brain doesn't think "Right, Up, Left"; your hands just do it.

I now carry a cube everywhere. It's the best fidget spinner ever invented.