Date: Mon, 6 May 91 11:14:02 -0700
From: Ronnie Kon <mindcrf!ronnie@peabody.mindcraft.com>
Subject: 5by cubes
I suspect this is why there are (and will probably never be) cubes of
orders greater than 5. I believe (though have not proved) that the 5 cube
contains all the complexity that is possible. Adding more cubies would only
increase the amount of time needed to solve.
On the other hand, a 5X (or any cube of odd order) will still have the
constraints imposed by a fixed center. As a single example, the 4X here in
my office is completely "solved" except that two opposite corners are
swapped. That's not something that can happen on a cube of odd order (at
least I don't think so, but I would love to be proved wrong ;).
N