Over the weekend, Feliks Zemdegs of Australiatook home his second straight Rubiks Cube world title at the 2015 Rubiks Cube World Championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The 19-year-old solved the traditional three-by-three cube at an average speed of 7.56 seconds -- one time just barely missing the world record of 5.25 seconds.The Huffington Post spoke over Skype with Zemdegs, who is an economics major at the University of Melbourne, about his tips for beginners, the types of cubers who really impress him, the stereotype about cubers that bothers him, whether the ability to solve a Rubiks Cube is actually an indication of intelligence and much more.I guess my first question is pretty straightforward: How does it feel to win two times in a row' How is it different from last time'It feels obviously pretty special to win again. Ive noticed in a lot of the articles they repeated some same quote about me being less nervous this timeBut yeah, this time I was a lot less nervous than I was two years ago in Las Vegas, so that sort of helped.Were you frustrated you just missed the world record' [Editors Note: Zemdegs solved the three-by-three cube in 5.695 seconds at the competition. The world record of 5.25 seconds was set by American Collin Burns in April.]You can get the record at any competition. The thing about the world championship is it doesnt matter what times you get. It just matters that youre faster than everyone else. So there, youre more focused on the win than the record. But the thing with the 5.69 isI probably [could have] beaten the record if I did something slightly differently within the solve.Did you realize that after the fact'Yeah, immediately after I was like, Aw, I made a mistake. But I didnt really care that much. Zemdegs realized he made a mistake right after finishing this solve.The training that you do in the weeks and months leading up to the competition -- is there anything specific that you can kind of say about your preparation that might surprise people'Nothing too special. I mean, I think for the most part its just a matter of just doing lots of solves at home. I dont really do anything special. I just sort of sit down with different puzzles and whatnot and just do sessions where Id do maybe 100 solves on a three-by-three cube or practice different puzzles. But I dont really train in any specific way. I know one of the other guys there actually went to a sports psychologist to sort of work on nerves and stuff, and I found that pretty interesting, but I didnt get around to that. I dont know, I was pretty busy.I asked a lot of colleagues what they wanted to know about you and the main thing everyone wanted me to ask is: What are one or two tricks that you really think help someone who is trying to figure out the Rubiks Cube'So, there is no one trick, right' For the most part, pretty much everyone who is doing these competitions has learned how to solve it off an Internet tutorial or off YouTube. When you first learn to solve the cube, I mean, anyone can learn it. It just takes a bit of practice and patience. But when you first learn how to solve it, its very formulaic. You know, youll learn you do this to solve this piece, then go to the next step and solve this piece. Thats sort of the beginner method. And then once you learn more and practice more, it becomes more intuitive.Im always very impressed by people whove figured out how to solve it by themselves, and I think thats ridiculously difficult. I couldnt even imagine it ... Thats one of the most impressive things. If someones looking to try and do that, one common tip is think of the Rubiks Cube in terms of pieces, instead of stickersif I had [a Rubiks Cube lying around] youd easily understand what I mean. But think of them in terms of pieces instead of stickers.Do you think the ability to solve a Rubiks cube can be proof of intelligence' Or do you think its just one form of intelligence' I think people look at those who can solve Rubiks Cubes as these geniuses. Do you yourself think that'Definitely not. Thats probably the stereotype. I mean, beginner methods are so easy to learn. Literally anyone can learn it. I think to get really fast, you obviously have to have some sort of pattern recognition, spatial awareness, finger dexterity. Im not sure that necessarily translates to intelligence at all, but it definitely requires a spatial reasoning sort of thing. And to get fast, it [really just] requires a lot of practice and dedication.So you dont think the ability to solve a Rubiks Cube is an indication of intelligence, but do you think practicing cubing makes you smarter at all'Im not sure. Im not sure if there have been any studies or anything on it, but Im sure its probably good brain training -- keeps your mind active, thinking and stuff like that. Itll always be problem-solving because every single solve that you ever do will be different, right' There are almost an infinite number of combinations of the Rubiks Cube. Its different every time, so that requires you to come up with a different solution every single time ... So Im sure thats probably good for the brain. But I dont think it makes you smarter.I was reading an interview with another Rubiks Cube player about why there arent many female Rubiks Cube players at competition. I was wondering if you had any insight into why the Rubiks Cube world has remained so dominated by men.Its funny, we were sitting in the finals room, the top 16 competitors, they had us backstage, and I mentioned to someone else, Ah, its all guys, and its just sort of accepted, no one even has second thoughts about thatBut I think it's just cause its sort of probably just a repeating cycle. Because there are no world-class female speed cubers, it doesnt really encourage girls to get into it, and then because they dont get into it they dont practice and become really, really fast. Not to say that there arent some great girl cubers out there. But yeah, Im not really sure why.Do you think cubers should be considered athletes'Probably not. I dont think so.Whats the most impressive Rubiks Cube-related thing youve ever seen'Im always impressed by the blind solves, the blindfolded competition. So these guys ... they memorize the whole cube in under 10 seconds, put the blindfold on and then solve it in 10 or 15 seconds, like the top guys -- and thats always been something thats been very impressive to me, even as a cuber. I can only imagine what the public thinks of it. 'A cuber solves a Rubik's Cube blindfolded.Of course. Its next level to me. How long do you think youll solve Rubiks Cubes for'For the most part, I think the top-level guys, the world-class guys, probably aged between 15 and 21, and Im 19 at the moment, but I dont really -- I dont think too many people will be challenging for my speeds for the next little while. I dont see myself stopping. Well see. Until I get a job or grow up or something. But the aspect that I also like is the community aspect. So Ive met a bunch of people from all around the world. Even if Im not the fastest anymore, Im still going to go to the competitions to see all the friends from all around the world. But hopefully that wont be for a little while.You seem relatively humble for a world champion, I have to be honest. Is there something about cubing in general that has made you that way, or have you just always been like that'I think i just have always been like that. Im generally really quiet. I dont think Rubiks attracts the really outspoken people, I guess. You would never see speed cubers being ridiculously arrogant, like, Ive never encountered that at all.Are there any sort of stereotypes about cubers that you feel are wrong or you feel are not in line with the community youre talking about'The one that is always in the media is -- whenever there is coverage of a competition or something -- the news is always saying, Well, look at these geniuses. Theyre so incredibly smart. I could never ever do this in a million years, when that really isnt the case. Anyone with a bit of patience can learn how to solve the Rubiks Cube with lots of practice and dedication and learning and patience. You can get fast. You dont have to be a genius or anything like that.I only have one more specific question. Do you have a favorite Rubiks Cube color'I dont knowSo the thing with the Rubiks Cube is that there are six different colors, right' And most people, they begin their solve on maybe one or two colors -- the majority of speed cubers have to begin their solves on the white side, so they start on the white at the bottom and then build it up from there. Some people have different colors; some people will start on blue or whatnot.Then theres a few guys who are able to start on any color because thats how theyve learned it from the start, and Im one of those. Its called color neutrality, so you can begin the solve on any color which gives somewhat of an advantage because you can start the solve on the easiest color. Because of that, I dont know, I dont really have a color. Ill go green. Lets go green.The questions and answers of this interview have been edited and condensedfor clarity.Also on HuffPost: -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Click here to read full news..
