"I solved the Rubik's Cube!"

You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to say that. I actually bought a cube six years ago and could solve the first 2 layers. Unfortunately, I never really had a good reason for actually trying to finish it. It’s not as entertaining as one might first think. It’s actually quite frustrating. There is one correct combination out of 43,252,003,274,489,856,000! So I soon became distracted with something else; my cube ended up just like so many other unfinished cubes around the world, left in their imperfect form, forgotten in a closet.

When I read the Wired article about Joshua Green’s quest for “cognitive improvement”, it really hit home. I just haven’t been feeling like I’ve been operating at my peak lately. My brain just isn’t what it was ten years ago and I’m far too young to be saying that. It made me think that I probably could function at a higher level if I could keep my brain fit. If I trained my mind the same way athletes train their bodies, when I need to make demands of my mind, it would be ready. I’ve been implementing little things into my routine to test my theory.

There has been so much buzz lately about the Rubik’s cube. With the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” and Will Smith solving the cube on Oprah, it popped into my head. “Oh, I have one of those.” He had Cube experts, so I found experts online. When I solved it for the first time, it took me about two hours. I’m down to about twenty-five minutes now but I don’t think any world champions are getting nervous. For me, it’s about exercising the analytical and spatial parts of my brain that don’t seem to get used as much these days. I expect the improvements will pay dividends in actual dollars one day soon. Looking for solutions? I personally found the Petrus Method to be my favorite but there are many solutions to fit many different ways of thinking.

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