9i果冻制作厂

By Erica Bush 鈥�25

In 1977, one of the most popular toys of all time was released: the Rubik鈥檚 Cube. July 13 is Rubik Day, a day to enjoy the Rubik鈥檚 Cube and celebrate the birthday of Ern艖 Rubik, the inventor of the Rubik鈥檚 Cube.

A classic three-by-three Rubik鈥檚 Cube has over 43 quintillion possible combinations to be solved. Despite this, all Rubik鈥檚 Cubes can be solved in 30 or less moves.

Kyle Miller, an 9i果冻制作厂sophomore studying computer science and mathematics, has a personal record of solving a Rubik鈥檚 Cube in 7 seconds and used to compete in national Rubik鈥檚 Cube competitions. In addition to being a Rubik鈥檚 Cube whiz, Miller is active on campus as an Orientation Leader, a , and a member of the Gamma Omicron chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi band fraternity.

We caught up with Kyle Miller to ask him about speed-cubing!

How did you first get into solving Rubik鈥檚 Cubes?

I had a friend, who was also named Kyle, bring one to school with the ability to solve it. I then became determined to be faster than him, so I practiced for months. When I got back after summer, he no longer cared about the hobby, but I had become obsessed with the puzzles and kept solving.

How long did it take you to master solving a cube?

Initially, it took probably around two weeks to consistently solve it, but to get fast probably around two years of consistency.

What was it like to attend and compete in national Rubik鈥檚 Cube competitions?

Exhausting! It鈥檚 absolutely exhausting. It鈥檚 three to four days of constant wrist movement and by the end I could barely hold a pencil. Although it鈥檚 tiring, the events are surprisingly social. You spend all day solving and meeting people with similar interests. Around 700-1,000 people attend nationals annually, so you鈥檙e bound to meet people. Most mornings I’d just sit at a random table of strangers and leave with a table of friends come the night.

What is something that others would be surprised to know about this skill?

It has very little to do with math. Most people who solve Rubik鈥檚 Cubes on a high level end up with interests in math and engineering by pure coincidence. It is entirely an algorithm application. So, instead of intuitively solving the puzzle, I look at where the pieces are and administer an algorithm to do what I want. These algorithms are sequences of moves that I memorize that move pieces around. I probably have around 300 algorithms memorized for a standard Rubik鈥檚 Cube now, and although I鈥檇 love to keep learning, it鈥檚 a bit too time consuming to do with college happening concurrently.

How many Rubik鈥檚 Cubes do you have? What is the largest size?

 I easily have upwards of 200 Rubik鈥檚 Cubes. The largest one I own is probably either the 10-by-10 or my Gigaminx. Both take around 30 minutes to an hour to solve.

For fun: We heard that you are one of Otterbein鈥檚 Scholar鈥檚 Day winners. What happened when you found out that you had won?

I was standing in a Joann Fabric store on senior skip day when I got the call that I won Scholars Day. For whatever reason, I didn鈥檛 believe the admissions counselor that I actually won, so I left a voicemail 20 minutes later asking if he was joking about it. Of course, he wasn鈥檛, and I still get referenced to today in the Office of Admissions because I am 鈥渢he kid who called back.鈥�