First I memorized a handful of algorithms (cuber lingo for defined sequences of moves known to advance a cube closer to its solved state).

But I kept at it: For two weeks I spent at least 20 minutes a day scrambling my cube and solving it the way Mao had taught me. My first time solving the cube on my own took me more than 20 minutes. Ninety seconds is not fast by speedcubing standards (the world’s fastest cubers average well below 10 seconds per solve), but Mao said it would be a respectable time for a dabbler such as myself. Afterwards he told me that, with practice, I could probably get my average solve time down to under a minute and a half. Tyson Mao, a cofounder of the World Cube Association, came to WIRED’s offices and spent about an hour teaching me his go-to beginner’s method. Earlier this year, while putting together a video about the world’s fastest solvers of the Rubik’s Cube, I decided to devote some time to learning to solve the classic puzzle myself.