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NEWS > SCIENCE > RESEARCHERS CHALLENGE GOD TO SOLVE THE RUBIK’S CUBE
RESEARCHERS CHALLENGE GOD TO SOLVE THE RUBIK’S CUBE
August 13 2010
Palo Alton, CA – In the 1980’s there was perhaps no toy bigger than the Rubik’s cube. The deceptively simple looking puzzle game captured the imagination of millions throughout the world and frustrated nearly all of them. Named for its creator, Erno
Rubik, the toy became a global hit that has continued until this day, having sold 350 million units since it first appeared on store shelve in 1980. Though many of those millions likely rest at the bottom of boxes and in garage sales the incredible success of the toy remains as perplexing as ever.
For many years the struggle to actually solve the mystery of the cube has been a barometer of intelligence, fairly or not, and a measure of stupidity for those who have been left flummoxed by the cube and all its mysteries. Though few experts would actually recommend using the cube to measure intelligence, and there has been no scientific correlation between the ability to solve puzzles and brain power, the myth remains for people on both sides of the equation. Now a new study has tested the cube in all its possible configurations and determined that the puzzle can be solved in only twenty moves, and have challenged the Almighty Himself to do better.
“Research like this shows how pure mathematics can often be used to make hard computational problems more feasible. The Rubik's cube is an interesting test case for the methods of computational group theory,” said lead researcher Tomas Rokicki. “The primary breakthrough was figuring out a way to solve so many positions, all at once, at such a fast rate. We have sifted through 43 quintillion possible moves and through the power of Google determined that at any point the largest number of moves required to solve the puzzle is 20. I can say with total confidence that even God couldn’t do it faster.”
The researchers also noted that in the computer modeling all the stickers remained on the cube, a common if easily discovered shortcut employed by many people wanting to show off to their friends.
“Previously it had been determined that the so-called ‘God Number’ was 22 and that
any further manipulation would require some trickery. However the advanced computing of Google has allowed them to push the model further than previously believed possible and that has allowed them to reduce the number. Of course this is computer modeling and not real world practice which would likely change the number of moves required,” said Scrape TV Science analyst Dr. Howard Poe. “I could never figure them out myself. I tried and tried and one time I popped off the faces and replaced them so that i could impress this girl I liked. It never worked out between us. I mean we were young but I still liked her through high school but I never got any further with her than I did that day with the Rubik’s cube. Maybe I would have gotten further if I was actually able to solve it.”
The Rubik’s cube has never been widely considered and aphrodisiac, at least in western culture.
“This notion that God could not do better is a little presumptuous I think. I mean if God exists and exists in the form that he has been commonly depicted He could just blink it into a solution. It wouldn’t even require him making a single move. He could just will it into a solution but of course he would not do that,” continued Poe. “It is one of the guiding principles of Christianity that God cannot interfere in earthly matters so he would not even try to solve the puzzle but I’m sure if did he could solve it less than 20. I mean he created the Heavens and the Earth, he could solve a plastic puzzle I’m sure.”
Vatican officials had no comment.
Anna Phillips, Science Correspondent
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