the cube lives, baby

a third journal entry


I recently was getting my oil changed at the Wal-Mart in St. Helens. The service was taking longer than I expected so I got bored. I started roaming the store and came across a relic from my youth. There upon the shelf was the famed Rubiks Cube.
The Cube was the bane of my youth. I used to play with one all the time. I could make the words “Hi” and “Ho”. I could make a checkerboard. I could even solve two and sometimes three sides. I do not believe I ever solved the entire thing, though. Over the years the Cube disappeared to be replaced by other puzzles I could not solve, such as the original Mario Brothers platform game on the NES Nintendo.
Naturally, I was unable to resist purchasing the Cube. I took it back to the waiting room and began spinning the sides. It is just as magical as it ever was. The Cube takes a portion of U.S. pop culture thinking and spins it on its side.
The U.S. educational system is designed around linear applications. One side effect of this focus is the habit of people thinking in two dimensions. The third dimension of depth is often a foreign concept to many U.S. citizens. The Rubiks Cube operates on that principle and presents a 3 dimensional puzzle.
I was amazed at how much easier I found it. In under 5 minutes I solved the Cube. It was certainly a glorious moment in my life. I had never before mastered the intricate mathematical equations needed to make the necessary adjustments. I was confident now, so I deliberately broke up the solved patterns and was going to work on it again. Before I could begin they completed work on my car so I put the Cube away and went on my merry way.
A couple days later I broke out the Cube again…and could not solve it. I could fix one side but could not solve even so much as a second side. I turned to yet another monument of pop culture to solve my dilemma. I went to Google and tried the phrase Rubiks Cube Solutions.
It was stunning to me to realize how deep the Cube has penetrated into the pop culture landscape. There are world Cube championships where people solve this complex puzzle in under 15 seconds. There are numerous theories on the best way to solve the Cube. It is an amazing study.
The Rubiks Cube has become a part of American pop culture and it is something that actually bears a benefit. It engages the mind in mathematical and logic equations. It also provides a sense of community for people who are trying to solve it. In many ways, it is one of the ultimate examples of pop culture;instantly recognizable, people understand the rules surrounding it, and it evokes consistent reactions. Long live the Cube.