This took us by surprise. A Rubix cube, really? It seemed an odd request from a kid who loves playing Madden and watching vlogs (don't get me started), and who gets super frustrated when the math homework gets tough. It did not seem like something that he would use more than three times. But ok, sure, we try to be good parents, so off we went to the mall for one more last, last-minute purchase.
Wouldn't you know that he has been obsessed with this $9 toy ever since.
On Christmas morning, Andres opened the present with much fanfare. He played with it a few times the remainder of the week, trying to get a handle on how he could make sense of it. But I really began to take notice of his passion for solving the cube when we got back to Massachusetts. He would sit on the sofa, in his room, at the living room table just twisting and rotating and flipping. I couldn't tell whether he was making any progress. But he kept at it.
He would come home from school and tell me about friends of his who had solved their 2x2 and 3x3 cubes using "algorithms."
"I need to learn the algorithms," he would say. I tried to stifle a laugh, because it sounded so funny to hear him talk like this.
But still, he would keep puzzling.
Within a week he had found some YouTube videos of people solving their Rubix cube using these very algorithms that he was in search of. Some videos were good; others were not. He watched them, Rubix cube in hand, trying to follow each and every twist. When the videos went to quickly, he would record the moves on a sheet of paper.
Despite finding this treasure trove of videos he was still struggling. The algorithms weren't working. He would watch videos where a cube would go from scrambled (that's the official word for "mixed up") to solved, only to look at his own and see it hopelessly jumbled. What was going wrong?
At this point, I expected him to quit. This is what I would have done, anyway--why keep trying something that's clearly not working? (Of note: I have never solved a Rubix cube, not even a single side of one.) But he didn't quit. He kept puzzling, kept watching videos, kept looking for something that would work.
And then, finally, he found one. He learned how to solve for the "white cross"--five white panels arranged in a + sign. Before too long, he had solved an entire side. Another video helped him solve the middle section of the cube. It took another day or so, but another video helped him solve for the yellow face, which was the final step. Everything was falling into place...and then, he could see the end of the rainbow: only one more twist to go!
He ran to where his sisters were playing. "I'm going to solve the Rubix cube!" he said. They cheered him on as he made the final twist, bringing all the colors onto their proper sides. He had done it! Everybody celebrated.
I couldn't believe it. He had persevered through a lot of frustration and dead ends--something he typically doesn't do on homework. Who was this kid? What made him keep trying new approaches and new strategies? I was really proud of him.
"Cubing," as the kids call it (they actually do call it that, I'm not making that up), seems to have become a legitimate interest for Andres. He's now solved the 3x3 cube a couple of times. He also solved Celia's 2x2 cube, and requested that we buy him a specific kind of 2x2 cube--one that is smoother and faster than the Rubix brand. He says his personal best for solving a 2x2 is 12 seconds (I have no reason to doubt this, though the fastest I have ever timed him at is 46 seconds). He's also currently working on a Pyramid-shaped puzzle.
I finally asked him why he likes solving these cubes.
"I like how the puzzle moves," he said. "I just like them. They're cool." And then he went back to playing on his iPad. Some things never change.
Wouldn't you know that he has been obsessed with this $9 toy ever since.
On Christmas morning, Andres opened the present with much fanfare. He played with it a few times the remainder of the week, trying to get a handle on how he could make sense of it. But I really began to take notice of his passion for solving the cube when we got back to Massachusetts. He would sit on the sofa, in his room, at the living room table just twisting and rotating and flipping. I couldn't tell whether he was making any progress. But he kept at it.
He would come home from school and tell me about friends of his who had solved their 2x2 and 3x3 cubes using "algorithms."
"I need to learn the algorithms," he would say. I tried to stifle a laugh, because it sounded so funny to hear him talk like this.
But still, he would keep puzzling.
Within a week he had found some YouTube videos of people solving their Rubix cube using these very algorithms that he was in search of. Some videos were good; others were not. He watched them, Rubix cube in hand, trying to follow each and every twist. When the videos went to quickly, he would record the moves on a sheet of paper.
Despite finding this treasure trove of videos he was still struggling. The algorithms weren't working. He would watch videos where a cube would go from scrambled (that's the official word for "mixed up") to solved, only to look at his own and see it hopelessly jumbled. What was going wrong?
At this point, I expected him to quit. This is what I would have done, anyway--why keep trying something that's clearly not working? (Of note: I have never solved a Rubix cube, not even a single side of one.) But he didn't quit. He kept puzzling, kept watching videos, kept looking for something that would work.
And then, finally, he found one. He learned how to solve for the "white cross"--five white panels arranged in a + sign. Before too long, he had solved an entire side. Another video helped him solve the middle section of the cube. It took another day or so, but another video helped him solve for the yellow face, which was the final step. Everything was falling into place...and then, he could see the end of the rainbow: only one more twist to go!
He ran to where his sisters were playing. "I'm going to solve the Rubix cube!" he said. They cheered him on as he made the final twist, bringing all the colors onto their proper sides. He had done it! Everybody celebrated.
 |
| The cube champion celebrates. |
I couldn't believe it. He had persevered through a lot of frustration and dead ends--something he typically doesn't do on homework. Who was this kid? What made him keep trying new approaches and new strategies? I was really proud of him.
"Cubing," as the kids call it (they actually do call it that, I'm not making that up), seems to have become a legitimate interest for Andres. He's now solved the 3x3 cube a couple of times. He also solved Celia's 2x2 cube, and requested that we buy him a specific kind of 2x2 cube--one that is smoother and faster than the Rubix brand. He says his personal best for solving a 2x2 is 12 seconds (I have no reason to doubt this, though the fastest I have ever timed him at is 46 seconds). He's also currently working on a Pyramid-shaped puzzle.
I finally asked him why he likes solving these cubes.
"I like how the puzzle moves," he said. "I just like them. They're cool." And then he went back to playing on his iPad. Some things never change.
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