I was mesmerised when I first saw this puzzle. The 3 x 3 x 3 cube has 43 quintillion combinations. If you don't know how many zeroes that is, don't worry, I am with you!
Since the popular culture equates solving of the cube with a feat of intelligence, I have seen many people intent on solving it without any external help. I was one of them for many years. I'd go to a bookstore, and my attention would gaze to the cube sitting on the cashier counter. I have even bought it a couple of times in the last few years and spent too many attempts. On one hand, I never got beyond a couple of faces (2 colours). On the other, I must have lost countless cubes.
This Wednesday however, the impossible happened. I went to a bookstore, picked up a Rubik's cube and directly went to YouTube. I got lost in the rabbit hole of cubing! I learnt that there are many algorithms to help. There are also many kind people on YouTube, who have figured out how to explain the solve using simple steps. I spent about 2 hours, and bam, I had solved the cube. Once, twice and the next few times and I bet I can do it without looking at the algorithms easily. Let's just say, despite “looking up” the solution, I am a very happy being to have solved the puzzle. I also plan to brag about it 😈..
💡 The whole episode is not about my triumph with the Rubik’s cube, it is about me refusing to look up the solution for many years. I wonder whether we let pride get in the way of solving life’s problems. It's okay to seek help. Ultimately, you need to solve the problem, not always be the first one to have found the solution!Will Smith’s new biography is the stuff of dreams
Will’s biography is full of intense stories from his childhood, his adolescent years and more. It is a gripping accord full of intensity, love, lessons and life. The stories are lucidly illustrated and beautifully crafted. I haven’t yet finished the book, but I can’t stop myself. It is truly the stuff of dreams.
I will leave you with one gem this week.
💡 People often say ignorance is bliss. Maybe... right up until it's not. We punish ourselves for not knowing. We always complain about what we could and should have done, and how much of a mistake it was that we did that thing, that unforgivable thing. We beat on ourselves for being so stupid, regretting our choices and lamenting the horrible decisions we make. But here's the reality, that's what life is. Living is the journey from not knowing to knowing. From not understanding to understanding. From confusion to clarity. By universal design you are born into a perplexing situation, bewildered, and you have one job as a human: figure this shit out.