July 16, 2004

4-D Rubix Cube! A 4-dimensional rubix cube. This is for all you monkeys who beat 20 questions yesterday! Warning: Java applet

Another game from the Loopy monkey. This thing really makes me scratch my head (ook ook!). I spent quite a bit of time learning how to make it rotate the way I want to (mostly), but solving the bloody thing is a different matter. I find it best to randomly click around and then look at the pretty colors as I smile and hum a tune in my head.

posted by LoopyG 20 years ago
  • Sweet merciful crap, my brain hurts. Good link!
  • The collective subconscious strikes again! I just posted a link to this in this Tetris post.
  • Eeeeps, sorry for reposting it then. All glory to freethought. Anyways, hopefully some more folks can enjoy it. Let me know if anyone can beat this 4 dimensional nightmare.
  • Here's the solution. I just going to have to take his word for it.
  • No glory needed. It's more important that people get to solving (i.e. determining the algorithm for) this evil thing. Or just look at the solution as posted.
  • I thought the fourth dimension was time?
  • There is no definition of each dimension. Which dimension is left-right? Is it the 2nd, or the 3rd? Time, in the Einstein view of the universe, is one of 4 dimensions in that crazy space-time fabric, but its not the 4th of those dimensions, it is one of 4. Example: You are one person in a room of 10, which number of the people are you? No answer, you are just one of 10 people. Another line of reasoning, this game is not discussing physics, its a mathematical game which takes place in a 4-dimensional space, time is a non issue. One other way to look at it, this is a 4-D game (which of course is mapped to our 2D screens), but it can also be thought of as a 5-d game, since when you click on a cube to rotate the game, this is done in a continuous manner over a finite length of nonzero time, so time could be one of 5 dimensions in this game, in which case, if the cube happened to be solved for a brief instant during a rotation, you would have solved the puzzle at that time, and then the puzzle would be incomplete again a moment later as the hypercube continued to rotate.
  • MonkeyFilter: done in a continuous manner over a finite length of nonzero time. apologies and good post - thanks Loops!
  • awesome link. thanks. now who wants to program a quick n dirty 4D tetris for us? :D more info.
  • Ouch.