Learn to solve a Rubik’s cube.

“Luckily, I’m good at following instructions, and you can learn anything on YouTube, so over the past week we’ve been using a beginner video and slowly learning an “easy” method (there are lots of ways to solve a cube, it turns out). Last night, after a bit too much wine, I buckled down and finished it for the first time. Even though it was a “beginner method” and I used YouTube to guide me through it, solving these things is no joke. The basic approach (for the easy method) is to get one side done (usually the white side) by starting with solving for a white cross, and then solving the corners to get a fully white side. From there, the white is your “base” and you then build one layer at a time, starting with the bottom and working to the top. The whole method involved 4-5 “algorithms” and I’m still not sure if I fully grasp how those work, but they do! Once I had the finished cube in my hand, it felt like magic, and now I’ve now got to teach Sam how to do it.”

“I’ve always wanted to solve a Rubik’s cube. I’ve spent hours tinkering with it over the course of my life without any real luck or progress. Every time I’ve tried it, I’ve ultimately gotten impatient and given up. [...] My challenge for the month of October was to practice the Rubik’s Cube every single day for a month, and today I successfully completed that challenge. I started out the month completely clueless. The very first time I solved it took me almost 3 hours. Now I can consistently solve it in 2-3 minutes. My record is 1 minute, 58 seconds.”