From cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Fri Jun 5 19:41:11 1998 Return-Path: Received: from sun28.aic.nrl.navy.mil by mc.lcs.mit.edu (8.8.1/mc) with SMTP id TAA23314; Fri, 5 Jun 1998 19:41:10 -0400 (EDT) Precedence: bulk Errors-To: cube-lovers-errors@mc.lcs.mit.edu Mail-from: From cube-lovers-request@life.ai.mit.edu Mon Jun 1 19:17:58 1998 Message-Id: <357329D5.FD5A7E89@t-online.de> Date: Tue, 02 Jun 1998 00:23:17 +0200 Organization: BERA Softwaretechnik GmbH To: Cube Mailing List Subject: New member From: Rainer.adS.BERA_GmbH@t-online.de (Rainer aus dem Spring) Dear cube lovers, a few days ago I have subscribed to the list. I have downloaded all the archives and also found some software (great stuff). Some of you may know my name from Mr. Bandelow's book - I'm the guy who won a prize with the shortest maneuver fro the super-flip-twist. I always thought the cube is dead. Now I am really surprised to see this completely wrong :) The level of discussion is really amazing. I have are some questions concerning terminology: What does M-conjugacy mean (this doesn't seem to be a standard term from group theory). [ Moderator's note: See "Symmetry and Local Maxima", 14 December 1980. This also introduces the group M and some of its subgroups, which are helpful in a lot of the cube-lovers discussion. Jerry Bryan also tried an explanation of M-conjugacy on 3 October 1996. ] Some mails in the archives mention numbers like p102 for patterns ?!?!? [ M: I believe Mark Longwood uses numbers of that form to catalogue patterns. ] Does anybody know the current upper bound for God's algorithm (in q/f metric). [ M: 29 face turns, 42 quarter turns. The best known lower bounds are 20 face turns, or 24 quarter turns (both achieved by superflip). This was true on 13 February 1996, and I don't think there has been an advance since then. ] Is there any serious research on the 4*4*4 or 5*5*5 cube. Computer search is probably beyond available/affordable hardware :( Are there any maneuver search programs that can handle slice metric ? I think that slice metric makes sense since q and f metric have no natural extension for "higher" cubes. [ M: See 1 June 1983 for "Eccentric Slabism", a genereralization of the q metric that could be adapted to a f metric. ] Does anybody have some nice patterns on the 4^3 or 5^3 cube ? [ M: I reported some 4^3 patterns on 15 June 1982. Have there been others? Any 5^3 patterns? ] I think I have some in my old (and thick) cube folder (paper, not on my PC :)) [ M: Could you type some in? ] Some of these questions probably have been discussed already. Sorry, I haven't read ALL old mails. [ M: Note that I left quite a few of these questions unanswered--other replies are welcome, either pointers to archive messages I forgot or new answers. But this highlights a major failing of the archives: We don't have a FAQ, or even an index to the major articles. Is anyone interested in working on something like this? I have very little time for it just now. ] adS -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rainer aus dem Spring email Rainer.adS.BERA_GmbH@t-online.de (home) Schimmelbuschstr. 10 email TEEADS@TEE.toshiba.de (business only) 40699 Erkrath tel. +49 (0)02104 35157 (private) Germany tel. +49 (0)02104 936150 (business) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------