13-year-old Rubik’s Cube enthusiast
9.89 seconds: that is how long it takes a 13-year-old Lowvelder to solve a 3x3 Rubik's Cube. To put this into perspective, the current world record time for this cube is 3.47 seconds. It can take the average person minutes, hours and even days to solve.
MBOMBELA – The secrets? Algorithms, patience and a willingness to learn. Shannon Manning’s intrigue when it comes to Rubik’s Cubes began in mid-2019 when someone gave him a cube.
“He could solve it in a minute and a half, and it just blew my mind. So, I really wanted to solve it,” said Shannon.
He did not just immediately know how to solve it, and the cube sat on his desk for quite some time until he decided to give it another go in November of that same year.
“I tried solving it again and after about two weeks, managed it. Then I tried again, and it took me a couple of minutes. Ever since then I have been learning new algorithms to go faster.”
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Sitting at the living room table of their home in West Acres with his collection of cubes in front of him, Shannon explained how he goes about applying algorithms to solve a Rubik’s Cube, and you can tell he has spent some time on it.
He currently uses about 50 algorithms for his different cubes, but says some professionals know up to 600 algorithms, and there are many many more. Shannon is heading to Durban on December 4 to participate in his first ever speed-cubing competition hosted by CubeCo.
He is not sure how many participants he will come across, but is extremely excited about the day that will start at 08:00 and continue until 17:00. The competition will consist of three rounds for different cubes, including a 2×2, 3×3, 4×4 and a pyraminx.
Competitors use their own cubes to compete with. Prior to the round, each competitor hands in their cube. They get scrambled and placed in front of them, covered. Shannon explained that once your cube is revealed, you get 15 seconds to inspect it, and then you have to start solving.
Your hands are placed on a timer which starts counting as soon as your hands leave it, and stops once your hands touch down on it again. He has put in some practice time ahead of the competition, but said eventually his fingers get fatigued.
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“It is about an hour a day during the week and I stay up late on weekends sometimes.” Shannon’s father, Arthur, said he is looking forward to seeing his son compete in the competition.
“He sits there and just boggles our minds,” said Arthur about his son’s talent. “I have listened to the explanation of the algorithms, but it simply does not make sense,” he said, laughing. “It just makes me proud as a parent.”
