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Rubik’s Cube -  A Complex Puzzle or Not?

Intro:

Welcome to daily fun facts where we discuss fun facts about this crazy world. Use these newfound facts to break the ice and start an interesting conversation.  Happy learning everyone!

Dialogue:

Andrea: Brie, you look so intensely focused!

Brie:  One second, Andrea, I’m about to solve this Rubik’s Cube. My goal is to be able to solve this puzzle game in any position in under 60 seconds.

Andrea:  Wow, you are quite an ambitious speedcuber!

Brie:  I sure am. If I can solve the Rubik’s Cube in less than one minute, then, statistically speaking, I’m solving it faster than 99.5% of the world’s population, and that is my ultimate goal! Aha! I just got it solved! 

Andrea: Bravo! Have you managed to solve it in under 60 seconds?

Brie: Well, let me check.  Dang, it took me about...60 minutes!

Andrea: Not bad! You ought to give yourself a pat on the shoulder!  Your time is faster than the inventor of the puzzle when he played it for the first time!

Brie: You mean Professor Rubik? The inventor of the Rubik’s Cube?

Andrea: Yes. Professor Ernő Rubik, the inventor and first solver of the Rubik’s Cube.  He spent over a month struggling to unscramble his invention. 

Brie: Really?! 三次魔方的发明人竟然用了一个多月的时间来解决自己发明的魔方难题?!That makes me feel a bit better about how fast I was able to solve the Rubik’s Cube!

Andrea: Actually, and here’s a fun fact, only 6% of the world’s population is able to solve the Rubik’s Cube. The mere fact that you can solve this puzzle game puts you in this top tier of solvers.  It has been calculated that there are 43 quintillion (that’s 43 with 18 zeros) possible ways to arrange the miniature cubes of the Rubik's Cube. The thing is, only one arrangement is correct!

Brie: 世界上有百分之94的魔方玩家从未能够解决魔方难题。一个看似简单的三阶魔方竟有这么多的不同排列可能，43后面再加18个零！

Andrea: The complexity of the puzzle has turned the game into a sport where competitive puzzle solvers, dubbed speedcubers, compete to solve the puzzle in seconds.  The current record holder is Chinese speedcuber Du Yusheng, who is able to solve the Cube in 3.47 seconds.

Brie: I wonder how much time and effort goes into becoming a super speedcuber like that?

Andrea: That’s certainly a question to puzzle over, but I heard that with 2 to 3 weeks of methodological and strategic training, a person can solve a cube in under 2 minutes.  

Brie: 你是说，对于一个初级玩家，一般只需要两到三个星期的训练，就能在两分钟之内解决三阶魔方难题？ How is that possible? As far as I can tell, it’s such a complex puzzle.

Andrea: I know that sounds crazy, but it is possible to master the puzzle in that short of a time period as long as you know the tricks of the trade.  The most important skill to develop is the ability to memorize algorithms, which are sets of moves that bring about the expected and most optimal results. They are the mathematically best way of finishing a task.  Algorithms can be combined to increase efficiency. The fastest Rubik’s Cube puzzlers reduce the guesswork by memorizing hundreds of these algorithms.

Brie: 原来，人们在长期玩魔方的过程中，总结并归纳了一套高效有用的魔方算法，要想成为真正的快速魔方玩家，能够记住算法，并且灵活运用，是至关重要的一项技能。对于那些能在几秒钟解决一个魔方难题的顶级玩家，他们通常能将上百个魔方算法记得是丝毫不差。 Solving a Rubik’s Cube definitely requires a good memory and fast fingers.

Andrea:  Exactly, both are important. In fact, the God’s Number of the Rubik’s Cube is 20.

Brie: God’s Number 上帝之数？What is that?

Andrea: The God’s Number is a mathematical term describing the maximum or worst case scenario number of rotational moves required to solve a Rubik’s Cube from any arbitrary starting position.  This means that when the position of the Rubik’s Cube is in the worst possible or most complex position, puzzle solvers should technically be able to solve the Rubik’s Cube within 20 rotations. 

Brie:  上帝之数原来是一个专用名词，指的是要解决一个处于任何排列位置的魔方所需要的最多步数。对于三阶魔方来说，它的上帝之数是“20”，意思是不管三阶魔方的起始位置有多么复杂，它都能通过最多20步的旋转来解决。

Andrea: Yes, I think that the researchers who identified the God’s number, and the speedcubers and others who are good at solving the Rubik’s Cube have definitely solved a Chinese puzzle.

Brie:  Andrea, the Rubik’s Cube is not a Chinese puzzle!  It was invented in Hungary! So, I guess you could say that it’s a Hungarian puzzle？

Andrea:  I don’t mean that it’s a puzzle from China or that it was invented by the Chinese.  I mean that they solved something that is very complicated.  For whatever reason, a common way to say that something is very difficult is to say it’s “a Chinese puzzle”, “it must be Chinese,” or “it’s Chinese to me”!

Brie: 明白了, “ a Chinese puzzle” 只是一个常用说法，用来形容一切伤脑筋的难题。类似于中国人常说的看起来像天书的意思。

Close:

So, everyone, there’s your fun fact of the day!  Let’s go over some of the vocabulary and phrases from this dialogue.

Vocabulary:

Rubik’s Cube  / ˌrubɪks ˈkyub /  三阶魔方

Ambitious  / æmˈbɪʃ əs /   有野心的

Speedcuber  / ˈspid ˌkyubər /  速解魔方者

Ultimate  / ˈʌl tə mɪt /  终极的/最终的

Dang  / dæŋ /  糟糕

Unscramble  / ʌnˈskræm bəl /  解答/解决

Top tier  / tɒp  tɪər /  顶级的

Quintillion  / kwɪnˈtɪl yən /  千亿/百万的三次方

Miniature  / ˈmɪn i ə tʃər /  小的/微型

Complexity  / kəmˈplɛk sɪ ti /  复杂

Dubbed  / dʌbd /  被昵称为， 被俗称为

Methodological  / ˌmɛθ əˈdɒl ə dʒikəl /  有方法的

Strategic  / strəˈti dʒɪk /  有策略的

Algorithm  / ˈæl gəˌrɪð əm / 算法

Guesswork  / ˈgɛsˌwɜrk /  猜测

Arbitrary  / ˈɑr bɪˌtrɛr i /  任意的

Hungary   / ˈhʌŋ gə ri /  匈牙利

Phrases:

Pat on the shoulder  拍拍肩膀以示鼓励认可

Puzzle over (something)  为...伤透脑筋，为...苦苦思考

Tricks of the trade （某一行业或活动的）绝招，绝活，门道

Chinese puzzle  难解或者难懂的问题以及情况，类似于中国人常说的看起来像天书

Alright, join us next time for another fun fact to help break the ice! 好了，这就是我们今天的有趣常识分享，如果喜欢我们，请别忘了点击订阅！拜拜，咱们下期再见！

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