And she doesn't even get out of her baby chair.

April 13, 2007 8:56 AM

114 seconds.
posted by phaedon (30 comments total)

Seeing any Rubix Cube solving challenge, of any variety, makes me feel very, very old.

What are John Davidson, Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby doing these days?
posted by Cyrano at 9:03 AM on April 13, 2007

Oh, yeah, little girl? You think you're so great because you can solve a Rubik's Cube at 3 and I still need to peel off the stickers and put them back on at 36. Well, how about if I just take it from you?

That's right. You may be some sort of savant genius girl, but I'm a big strong grown-up. Try solving the Cube when I'm holding it six feet over your head. Yeah, that's right, you can't. All you can do is look sad and cry and...cry some more...

Hey, stop crying. I...hey.

Okay, here's your damn cube.
posted by L. Fitzgerald Sjoberg at 9:06 AM on April 13, 2007 [16 favorites]

Isn't she six years old?
posted by growli at 9:17 AM on April 13, 2007

That's just a midget in a highchair. Geez.
posted by Bappy Lorenzo at 9:29 AM on April 13, 2007

Oh yeah sure... They gave her a solved Rubik's Cube and then ran the camera to capture 114 seconds of her messing it up and then uploaded the whole thing backwards to try to make us all believe the little rodent actually "solved" it in that time.

Didn't they? DIDN'T THEY??!!
posted by Mike D at 9:43 AM on April 13, 2007

<snarkycomment>
yeah, but they're all walkin' an talkin' backwards.
</snarkycomment>

<yetanothersnarkycomment>
If she was really clever she wouldn't be solving it layer by layer, but instead with Lars Petrus' method.
</yetanothersnarkycomment>

okok I'm impressed, really.
posted by umop-apisdn at 9:48 AM on April 13, 2007

better than taking off the stickers is just prying the cubes out and snapping them back in. My Dad thought I was a genius!
posted by imaswinger at 9:53 AM on April 13, 2007

I for one welcome our midget Rubik's Cube solving overlords.
posted by drinkmaildave at 9:57 AM on April 13, 2007

Yeah, I always went with the pry-the-cubes-out-and-reassemble method, too. Drove my brother crazy.

That little kid's pattern recognition ability (and general spatial intelligence) must be off the frickin charts. That was amazing.
posted by LooseFilter at 9:58 AM on April 13, 2007

We're all laughing now, but won't be when that chick is old enough to pilot the large, tranforming robots that will storm out Pacific shores.
posted by squidfartz at 10:05 AM on April 13, 2007 [3 favorites]

takes her fucking time, she does.
posted by parmanparman at 10:16 AM on April 13, 2007

FLUKE.
posted by jimmythefish at 10:17 AM on April 13, 2007

I find this hard to believe for the simple reason that I have never met a three year old with this much fine motor control.
posted by Pastabagel at 10:29 AM on April 13, 2007

It was fascinating to see her looking at it this way and that, checking it out, thinking about it. That was truly amazing.

Jesus, I was 15 and I was still proud when I got one side done! That's truly amazing.

I wonder if she's autistic or something like that.
posted by aacheson at 10:48 AM on April 13, 2007

The kid's an idrubik solvant.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 11:32 AM on April 13, 2007

umop-apisdn: You mean Fridrich's Method. She placed first in '82 (and teaches at my school! As does the '82 #2, linked from her page). She has videos of 14-16 second solves.
posted by tylermoody at 11:42 AM on April 13, 2007

I wonder if she's autistic or something like that.

I'm shooting a short subject on autism. We're buying a bunch of Rubik's Cubes and having the kids solve them on camera.

But the joke is (these kids, all on the spectrum, thought this up): we're just reversing the film from just after they take the pristine cube out of the package.
posted by hal9k at 12:06 PM on April 13, 2007

A pretty decent simulation, but in the end, the hands always give them away.

"OK, little Asian girl, I want you to describe in single words only the good things that come into your mind about... your mother."
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:08 PM on April 13, 2007

I loved the little head scratch at :49.
posted by Alt F4 at 12:37 PM on April 13, 2007

Possibly little head scratch followed by little yawn?
posted by phaedon at 12:40 PM on April 13, 2007

i'm always confused by videos like this. i see these large stadiums filled with people watching strange and wacky talents like this. it must be common, but why?
posted by eatdonuts at 12:48 PM on April 13, 2007

That was fantastic. 1.) she is adorable. 2.) one of my employees just gave one of my other employees a Rubiks cube a couple of days ago. I've been watching him monkey with it pretty constantly since then.

I took great pleasure in watching the video with him and asking, "So, you're less skilled than a three year old girl. Remind me why I pay you again?"

His embarrassment was most excellent.
posted by quin at 1:35 PM on April 13, 2007

.... and then he came to work holding a gun with Rubiks Cube colored bullets.
posted by tkchrist at 4:30 PM on April 13, 2007

Maybe, but I'm the kind of boss that would help him paint them.

Not because I have a death wish or anything, I just like painting bullets.

Actually the whole thing led us to find all sorts of great video of Rubik's cube solvers. Robots one and two for instance.
posted by quin at 4:37 PM on April 13, 2007

It must be hell trying to keep this kid occupied on a long road trip.
posted by mazola at 7:54 PM on April 13, 2007

I dunno... something about the speed at which she rotates the cube doesn't feel right. I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm just saying this feels fake.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:56 PM on April 13, 2007

I think it's fake too.
posted by tkchrist at 8:10 PM on April 13, 2007

I think all kids this age are actually much smarter than us--they just don't know anything. But they are like sponges when it comes to learning. That's why I'm not always so impressed with so called child prodigies.

Read interviews with adults-former child prodigies and you realize that while their parents were drilling them in mathematics or spelling or a musical instrument (or how to solve a Rubik's cube), they were neglecting the basics, like playing (and learning basic child-to-child and child-to-physical world interaction).

Admittedly, these kids have some extra smarts. I just think that it is sometimes abused.

Just solving a Rubik's cube is okay as long as it doesn't go obsessively beyond that.
posted by eye of newt at 9:42 PM on April 13, 2007

Shenanigans! That is clearly not the first time she's seen a Rubik's cube!
posted by teleskiving at 2:01 AM on April 14, 2007

whatever. I solved it at age 13 in 114 DAYS!
in your FACE!




wait...
posted by Busithoth at 8:09 AM on April 14, 2007