WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Speedcubing Today: What is Speedcubing?

Episode Date: October 3, 2024

Speedcubing Today is a show that interviews influential cubers around the sport. In today's episode I interview top play by play commentator, Manu Singhal, on what is speedcubing and what it has meant to him in his life.

Hello, everybody. This is Matthew Marnick with SpeedCubing today on 101.7 Radio Free Hillsdale. I am joined by probably one of the most prolific play-by-play commentators in the sport of SpeedCubing, Manu Singh Hall. Hello, Manu. Hello, hello. Prolific is quite the phrase there, but glad to be on. Hi, everyone. Yeah, I mean, Manu has done many Cuban competitions. He's commentated Western Championships, North American Championships, N-A-All-Stars, a lot of major championships, within the Rubik's Cube space, but for a lot of people listening,

this is probably one of the first introductions into speed cubing as a whole. So, Manu, can you kind of just describe what speed cubing is? Yeah, totally. So speed cubing, you're thinking speed and cubing. Okay, speed, you understand what is cubing. Cubing, we're talking about the Rubik's cube,

yes, the puzzle from the 1980s. And the whole goal is to try and solve it as fast as possible. So competitors at these Rubik's Cube competitions, They get the Rubik's Cube in like a scrambled state, a standard scrambled ice scrambled state. And the goal is, you know, you get some time to inspect the puzzle, and then you put your hands down on the timer. And when you lift your hands up off the timer, it automatically starts going. You make all the moves you can until you get it all solved.

All the colors onto the same side. That's the Holy Grail. And try to do it as fast as possible. The world record right now is 3.13 seconds. Yes, you heard it right. 3.13 seconds. but it's not super hard to actually learn how to solve Ruby's Cube. You can actually probably get to less than 10 minutes

with probably just like a week or so of practice. So not as hard as it seems, but it is a very difficult sport to get very, very good at. Yeah, and I guess Manu, probably what a lot of people are wondering is how does someone get into such a niche activity or sport like this? So for you, how did you get into it? Yeah, so my story is in middle school, a couple of my friends picked up the Rubik's Cube,

and we were all just kind of messing around with it on the way to the bus and the way to school. And at some point, one guy learned to solve it, right? And when you're in a group of middle school kids, when one person knows how to do something and everyone else doesn't, then it's because it's like a competition. So we all learned how to solve the Rubik's Cube.

Then I went to my first competition in 2013. I think I was like, what, like 14 years old at the time at this random high school just outside of Columbus, Ohio. And I've been competing ever since. It's 2024 now. That makes 11 years over a decade of competing. So, yeah, that's really all it is.

And the way you to learn is it's not like something super fancy. You don't have to like go take a class to do it. You can just learn it right on YouTube, loads of tutorials. Yeah, for a lot of people, they might not totally know that there is a whole world of cubing and cubing competitions.

So there's a large governing body of the Rubik's Cube World that's called the World Cube Association. So, Manu, how did you kind of find out about the World Cube Association? And can you kind of just describe its structure? Yeah, so I found out about the World Cube Association when I went to my first competition.

The way I did that is I was just on YouTube looking at cubing videos because it was all the rage for me at the time. And someone introduced me to the WorldCube Association website, worldcub association.org. You can see all the competitions on there. It is truly the WorldCube Association. There are competitions around the world.

There are dozens of competitions happening every single weekend. It's very, very exciting. The structure is really interesting. The way that the WCA is structured is there's a board of directors at the top, and then there's a bunch of different subteams and committees, and they control various parts about speedcubing. So we have an entire branch that's dedicated to regulations. So they write the regulation and say,

okay, well, this is what is classified as a legal timer stop. This is an illegal timer stop. How do you deal with penalties? Things like this. We have another body that investigates cheating and things like this. Yes, cheating. It has happened. Rubik's Cube is crazy.

There was a high-profile incident of someone trying to cheat in one of the events relatively recently and stuff like that. And then below that, we have these people called the delegates. You can think of delegates as kind of like referees. You need to have a delegate out of competition in order to make it officially sanctioned. I'm actually one of the delegates for the World Cup. And we basically go out and put on competitions in our local community and are kind of the arbiter of the rules.

We bring all the equipment and stuff. We teach people how to use the equipment and how to like time yourself. And then we keep down all of the records and everything on our scorecards and we input all the results in and make sure that everything is being done by the book. Yeah. So, Manny, you said you kind of started going to these competitions after learning in middle school. how did you kind of then become one of these delegates and how did you end up becoming then one of the more active play-by-play commentators

and get more active into the whole scene of the video production side of the Rubik's Q world? Yeah, so there are two different angles we'll take here. So how I became a delegate is I went to, I think, 70 competitions before I became a delegate. And Cuban has given me a lot. It has, when I went to college, I was a kid from Ohio. I went to UC Berkeley for college. I didn't know anyone there.

Because we're on the complete other side of the country. It was kind of like my high school self was like a really like insulated like very, very introvert, didn't want to talk to people. But Cuban gave me an outlet to meet people who had the same interest as me and the people at the Berkeley Cube Club are still some of my lifelong friends today. And I kind of wanted to help give back to the community in that way by, you know, volunteering my time. and basically showing people that, hey, keeping is like super fun. One of the ways that I personally think is really valuable is just spreading the, you can call it the message of cubing, if you will. And I think a great way to do that is via videos and live stream production. So we've been live streaming competitions out on the West Coast for a very long time,

roughly about once a month. We live stream some competitions. It's pretty easy, just put together some equipment. and just get it all booted up there. That's how I started commentating, because as someone who understood how to, after watching other live streams and other sports, I had some idea of like, okay, well,

this is what they do in other sports. And that's just kind of how I got behind the booth for the first time. And it's led me to some pretty fun places. And cubing has never been more exciting. And I have to dedicate all of that to just the fantastic cubers. There are so many amazing, amazing talents in our community right now. And they make every single competition a joy to go to. And the major competitions are just so, so much fun to watch.

Absolutely thrilling. Yeah, totally. One of the things that people might be wondering is when you're commentating for, you know, the original Rubik's Cube, they're solving as fast as they can, what is it that makes a good solve versus a bad solve? and yeah, what makes some people faster than others? And like, what are you kind of looking for when you're commentating that? Yeah, totally.

It's really interesting. So if you know nothing about the way that the Rubik's Cube is solved, essentially there are a couple of distinguishing factors. One thing that's like relatively basic that a lot of people learn how to do from the get-go is to pick a method. So there are many different methods to solve the Rubik's cube. People aren't just like showing up to these competitions and kind of like randomly figuring it out on the spot. There's basically frameworks that you can use. So we compare methods that people use.

Some methods are a little bit better than others, just because they've been more optimized over the years. So that's one thing that differentiates people. Another thing that is really different amongst a lot of speedcubers across the spectrum is turn speed. And when you went to solve the Rubik's Cube in the 80s, you would have to use your whole hand to turn the layers because the mechanism just was kind of,

It had a lot of friction, and it was not super easy to do. Nowadays, modern speed cubes are designed such that you can turn them with just one finger. So turn speed is really an important factor because the faster you can turn the puzzle, the faster you can solve. The one thing that is very, very unobvious, and at the highest level is a really, really big differentiator amongst the competitors who are at, like, the world-class level is efficiency. Not only are you trying to solve the cube at all, you're trying to solve the cube in relatively small number of steps. And not all competitors can do this. And again, methods, you can have one method that on average takes more moves,

but there are also other methods that you can use to reduce your move counts and just bring it further and further down. That's kind of what we're seeing in the sport right now. So those are a bunch of different factors that we look at as commentators, when trying to determine, okay, how is this competitor getting these types of insane times? And honestly, to some of us, it's also insane to see how competitors get like six seconds, five seconds, four seconds solves, and they can do that consistently. It's quite amazing.

Yeah, what has been one of your favorite solves you have commentated on that you have also witnessed, you know, take place? Yeah, I think it's a bit tough to ask, but I, I think my favorite solve right now was a solve from North American All-Stars, which took place this past July. I was in the commentary booth with a fellow board member, or sorry, he was on the board, Nick Silvestri, and we're watching three-by-three finals. This is in the Mall of America.

So we're sitting in the Rotunda of the Mall of America. There are four stories of spectators who are viewing this event. And at the center, we have this guy, Timone Kolesinsky. He is one of the best speedcubers in the world right now. He's from Poland. And he's on an absolute tear of an average. We measure speedcubers based on their average of over five solves. And we're watching the broadcast.

And as he sits down, I believe it's solved three. He just has an amazing solution, perfectly fluid. pauses at all. He ends up getting a three. I'm blanking on exactly what that time is. 392, I think. 3.92? Yeah, 392. And Nick and I are in the booth and we're just going crazy because that is one of the few times a three has been recorded on camera. And I think that may have been one of the first times a three has ever been seen on a live stream. And he was obviously ecstatic. the rest of the room was obviously very, very aesthetic as well. That has to be probably my favorite moment in cubing right now.

Yeah. So what do you think you have to say for a lot of parents who might be kind of skeptical if their kids maybe gaining the Rubik's cubes or their kids are saying like, hey, I'm kind of interested in this. What would you kind of have to say for parents about maybe the benefits of Rubik's cube solving and the community as a whole? Oh, yeah. So first of all, a lot of people think that, okay, like Rubik's Cube,

There's a lot of math involved. It must be very complicated. I can assure you this is not the case. Otherwise, I definitely would not be here at solving group of scoops today. There's actually a lot of kids in the community. I want to say like the average age of the competitor across, at least in the United States, I think is somewhere around 13 or 14. And there are many competitors who are younger than that even.

So when you go to a competition, you'll see lots and lots of people. A lot of kids, a lot of like 20-somethings, a lot of adults too. So it really is for everyone. The other thing that I think Cubing excels at compared to a lot of other hobbies is kind of the wholesome inclusiveness. There's people from all different walks of life at these competitions. And the community is very, very open and willing to share secrets, share solutions, share methods, and just ways to kind of lift us all up. If you go to a competition, you sit down, you talk to some people you've never, you've never met before, instantly you start turning a puzzle and someone will come up to you like, oh, what's that puzzle? That looks really cool. Here, you want to try my puzzle and I'll try your puzzle. And you just like start having a conversation this way. It's a great way to get people to kind of like open up a little bit. And just like really find yourself inside of this community of like-minded people. And I think that that is like one of the best things that Q&M

has given me. It's just an opportunity to just wherever I go in the world, I can pull out a cube. And if there's a cube or nearby, they'll be like, hey, you have the same interests as I do. Let's chat a little. This happened to me when I was in Europe, actually, earlier this summer as well. I'm on my train to the European Championships. I don't know anyone there. And yeah, someone comes up to me, he's like, hey, that's a Rubik's Cube. I'm also going to European Championships. And then we just chit-chat it a little bit on this train ride that took forever. Yeah, one of the things you said that a lot of Cubors are on the younger side, and you also joined when you were a younger kid too. So now you're more on the older side of Cubine.

What are a lot of the changes you've seen that have just kind of happened over the course of your, you know, career here in the community of Cubing? Hmm. There are a good number of changes that have happened. A lot of them have to do, a lot of them are a little bit technical. There have been a lot of, like, there have been a lot of improvements in the types of hardware that we've used. Ten years ago, we still had hardware that was, like, not very good. Obviously, a lot better than, like, the 1980s versions of the cubes. But nowadays, cubing is, like, very, very diverse.

You can go to an online retailer to find a SpeedCube, and there are literally hundreds of options. And what's crazy is you'll see options between $5. and like $85, but almost any of those cubes will perform just as well for the average competitor. There's a huge range of customizable that we have in the hardware game now, which I think is good because that means that you can show up with a $5 cube and still be on like, you know, like relatively the same level as someone who has a $70 cube. It really comes down more to like how much you practice and like the methods that you use. So I think that that's fantastic.

We've also seen cubing kind of like expand pretty dramatically recently in the types of people who are cubing. I think it's been more inclusive now than it's ever been before. And personally, I think that's great to see. It's just a hobby that, you know, everyone can kind of share together regardless of whatever your background is. Yeah, for sure. When it comes to people getting into the sport, what do you think is the best way for people, to learn how to solve a cube or to just kind of learn about cubing in general? Yeah, totally. So if you're interested in learning how to solve the Rubik's Cube,

my number one recommendation is go to YouTube, search up how to solve a Rubik's Cube, and watch a tutorial. Now, it won't be, you're not going to get it immediately, obviously, because it's a skill. You have to put some time into that skill. But if you think that it will take you a year to learn the Rubik's Cube, I think you can do better than that. You can easily get it within a month. And you don't even have to practice that hard. I think if you probably practice around like maybe like one to two hours like a week. And you can do this whenever, right?

Like if you're just chilling like watching TV, you can just like do some turns and at least your hands are going to get used to how to like turn a cube more efficiently and faster. So that is the number one way I think you should learn how to solve Rubik's Cube. And the best part, it's free. Once you buy the, you can buy any cube. You can buy like a $10 cube from your like local retail store even. like your brick and mortar store, and just sit down and just give it a try. That's what I would say.

If you're interested in the world of competitive speedcubing, I suggest that if you know how to solve a cube, register for a competition. It does not matter how fast you are. There is no minimum qualification for a local competition. The only requirement is you can solve it in less than 10 minutes because that's just the time that the timers go to. They just don't time more than 10 minutes. So if you can do it in less than 10 minutes at all, go to a competition. You will be an official speedkeeper. You'll get like a little profile and everything on the WCA website. And it's just really cool.

You can have official results there. You can kind of get a feel for what it's like. If you're thinking about getting to speedcubing but you are not super sure about the competing aspect, you can actually just attend a competition basically for free. Most competitions don't have like any kind of spectator fee or anything like that. So you can just show up. All the competitions are available on the WCA website. So you can just go on there.

Let's say you live in Michigan, right? You can search for all the competitions that are happening in Michigan and you'll see like a list of them. And yeah, you can just show up and you can just spectate. Just kind of get a feel for what it's like. If you want to go with like a kid or something like that, they're also more than welcome, kind of interact with people, kind of see, okay, like this is what Cubing is all about.

So those are my biggest recommendation. for how to get in. And like I said, it doesn't matter what your skill level is. You're more than welcome in our community. Yeah, I guess a lot of people are probably wondering, like, what is for, you know, we know the top solvers are doing like three seconds sometimes, like if they're really fast, four seconds, five seconds. What is it kind of for, you know, your average speed cube or maybe like, you know,

your average 13 year old, your archetypal cuber, like what's their kind of experience going to a competition? What does it look like and what kind of times are they getting? Yeah, totally. When I started as like 13, 14 year old kid, my very first average was a 34 second average. But I know that there's like a really, really wide range. It really goes into like how much practice you do beforehand. So some people will like average 20 seconds, but there are like many people who will average

like two minutes, three minutes, like I said, all the way up to 10 minutes. So there's a huge, huge range. The average competition experience for, you know, someone who's like a teenager getting into it is you show up to a competition. Usually they start like 8 AM, 9 a.m. Something like that. Usually have like a very quick check-in. And then you go sit down at a table.

At this table, you'll meet a lot of other cubers, because they also want to sit down at a table. You start doing some turns, start warming up, practicing for the events of the day. And then you'll notice someone else who's also practicing. And sometimes you'll just go and race them. Like, oh, we have similar times. Let's race and see who can do faster.

Or sometimes they have a cool, puzzle that you've never seen before. It's like, whoa, is that like a five by five Rubik's Cube puzzle? I've never seen one. And usually if you ask like, oh, like, do you mind if I try that out a little bit and see what it's like, they'll just let you. So it's a lot of like co-mingling like this. When I first started, I didn't know anyone, so I was just there with my mom.

But that as I got to know more and more people, it would be like, okay, well, now I need to figure out what to do for lunch. Does anyone want to go get lunch with me? And if it's on some college campus or something, there's usually someplace you can go and just like, kind of chit chat, mingle, get to know each other a little bit more. As you do your events of the day at the end, there's like an award ceremony where they recognize

everyone who placed on the podium, which is really fun to see. It kind of gives a target for like, okay, a lot of kids want to get onto a podium one day. So it's like, okay, well, these are the competitors I should be looking up to, asking questions to, and things like that if I want to, want to get faster. And from there, usually, I think at my competition, we exchanged email addresses. I think kids nowadays, they probably send each other their Instagrams or whatever. And then just

keep in contact. And yeah, that's like the average day of a SpeedCube at a competition. Well, thank you so much, Manu, for joining me here on 101.7 Radio Free Hillsdale. I hope you, everybody learned a lot about what the world of Rubik's Cube solving is through one of the greatest commentators and all with speedkeeping. See you guys all on the other side.