From: Jacob_Davenport@scudder.com (Jacob Davenport)
Subject: Re: Middle layer last?
To: "'Cube Lovers'" <cube-lovers@ai.mit.edu>

1.  I learned the solution of top, middle, and then bottom many years ago.
I forgot most of it, so when I asked Kristin Looney to remind me how to do
the cube, she showed me her solution, which is top corners, bottom corners,
top and bottom edges at the same time, then middle edges.  It is a much
easier solution to do and to teach.  A variant of it can be found at
http://www.unc.edu/~monroem/rubik.html, although in this variant he is more
rigid about how to solve the top and bottom edges.  So, I'd forget your
original method of top/middle/bottom, because it does not revel in the
corner/edge dichotomy of the cube.  I only use top/middle/bottom when
solving cubes with complicated patterns, such as those at
http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Kristin/CustomCubes.html.

2.  The shortest, pratical, method for solving the cube, in my opinion, is
the one discussed above.  Kristin, who does not have incredibly fast hands,
did very well in speed cube competitions when pitted against people who had
hot hands but the top/middle/bottom solution.  Also, I can teach someone
this solution in an hour.

-Jacob