Small Cube and The Big World Yaotian Feng

I never believed there could be such a big world hidden in such a tiny cube. Staring at the Rubik’s Cube sitting next to my computer monitor made me remember my destiny with it. When I was nine years old, I saw my cousin solving the Rubik’s Cube just under a minute. As a 9-year-old boy, I was fascinated by his skill, and I wanted to do the same; but out my surprise, after my rapid but random twisting, not only I did not solve it, but it also fell into pieces. Now it is lying as a pile of messy cubes in front of me.

Although he told me to not worry about it, I still felt guilty and apologized. Out of guilt and curiosity, I began to attempt to reassemble the cube, seeing my interest, he gave the “cube” to me as a gift for me to fiddle around with, as I go, he challenged me to put it back together. After a few days, it is still the same pile of blocks lying in front of me. I thought, if he can restore the cube so fast, there must be some rules that are behind these blocks. Then the eureka moment came, I realized how to put back the cube and how to restore one face. With some research, I learned to solve all six sides; I need to memorize a few patterns. A week later, I not only reassembled the cube but also figured out how to...