Is Cubing On A Decline?

            Hi guys! My name is Josh, and I’m starting this blog to share my interest in speedcubing and twisty puzzles with everyone. To start off on my blog, I wanted to discuss a common argument that I hear about constantly. There seems to be a big concern with how long speedcubing will last, and that we are on a downwards slide, and are running out of records to break and cubes to make. I can understand where they might think this, but I personally find this ridiculous. There is still so much we haven’t covered. Even though some records seem almost impossible to break at this point, doesn’t mean they won’t be broken. Feliks has had an unofficial 3.87 second solve, almost 2 seconds faster than the current world record. Plus it doesn’t have to be all about the world records. There will always be a spark for who can be the next world’s best cuber. When you think about it, cubing is a very young sport, and most people haven’t even begun to work out their full potential. I think in the next few years we are going to see a huge increase in the number of high level speedcubers in competition. It may be a hard thing to get great at, but once you get there, you can compete for a long time. This means that competition will be fiercer, and people will be trying even harder to perfect the best method and learn as much as is humanly possible. 
        And as far as puzzles go, Moyu is releasing a new 15 x 15 puzzle in 2015, and that is just the start. We haven’t even begun to see the improvements that could be made to higher ordered speed cubes, like the 4x4 through 7x7. Some things need to be explored, such as the Gans style core. I would also like to see a completely reinvented design, something no one has ever seen before. Something like the 6x6 could really use a renewal, because even the best modded, lubed and tension ones are way below speedcubing standards, and need a massive improvement. I talked to Kevin Hays once, and watched him do a solve, and even he admitted to the frequency of 6x6 pops. The general design needs to be improved, and I think was have a lot more we are still capable of. Finally, I want to say that even when records run dry and cubes are perfected, there will always be community between cubers. Our sport is such a rare thing that it has some amazing quality to create friendships and allow a whole lot of fun. We need to remember that in the end, it’s more important that we had a great time and were successful at something unique.