A recent article on Engadget had me thinking about the Rubik’s cube.  The article talks about “God’s number” or the shortest number of moves to solve a puzzle on average.   I like to consider myself semi-intelligent, but have never considered myself to be much of a puzzle solver.  I remember one day a few years back someone I worked with who was very quickly overloaded with their work load was talking with me about the Rubik’s cube as our discussion continued I attempted to solve the cube, for hours.  I got nowhere.

After some time working on this puzzle, that’s what people do in a cube farm, I handed the cube over to this coworker.  Within a minute or so, right in front of, the cube was solved.  Unbelievable!

It is a certain type of mind that can solve these puzzles, and it is that mind-type that has puzzled me for years now.  I have always been there with a quick retort, a negotiator, an idea guy, but puzzles, I just can not believe how some people I would have NEVER guessed to be good at them could embarrass me so quickly.

I still have yet to solve a Rubik’s cube without the assistance of a solver.  But since that day I have always thought about the many ways to measure the human mind.

Posted on August 10, 2010 at 11:41 am
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