World Champion Says Rubik's Cube, Violin Work Well Together
2023-01-31
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1A University of Michigan student is one of the world's top "speedcubers," a person able to quickly solve a Rubik's Cube.
2He also is a talented violinist.
3Stanley Chapel says the two activities work well together.
4He adds that he has equal interest in both. But the 21-year-old says the violin has helped him succeed in speedcubing.
5Chapel is studying violin performance at the university's school of music, theater and dance.
6He said that ideas he learned from music study such as repetition and "breaking things down into their smallest" elements helped him get better at cubing.
7Chapel grew up in Ann Arbor, not far from where the University of Michigan is located.
8He solved his first 3x3 Rubik's Cube as a 14-year-old.
9Five weeks later, Chapel entered his first competition, solving the cube in an average of 22 seconds.
10In 2017 in Paris, Chapel placed fifth in both the 4x4 blindfolded and 5x5 blindfolded groups at the World Cube Association World Championship.
11At the 2019 world championship in Melbourne, Australia, he won both events.
12Accounting for the time it takes for him to study the cube before placing the blindfold over his eyes, Chapel can solve one in around 17 seconds.
13"The deeper I go into ... cubing technique, the more I find interest in pushing the boundaries of what's possible there," he said.
14Chapel has some strong natural abilities.
15He is able to remember thousands of ways to solve a Rubik's Cube and perform one of Johann Sebastian Bach's violin pieces from memory.
16But Chapel also spends many hours working on his skills.
17In addition, he does regular hand exercises that help him avoid the kinds of pains that come with the large amounts of time turning the cube's sides.
18Chapel says years of playing the violin also has helped him have "very, very fine motor control already built up."
19Later this year, Chapel plans to defend his world titles in South Korea.
20Once he is done with school, though, Chapel is not sure how speedcubing fits into his future plans.
21"I guess it's cool to know that nobody is able to do this," he said.
22"But, at the same time, giving myself a little bit of a reality check, it's like, 'How much does that actually matter?'"
23"It's not going to pay the bills when I'm older," Chapel said, laughing.
24I'm John Russell.
1A University of Michigan student is one of the world's top "speedcubers," a person able to quickly solve a Rubik's Cube. He also is a talented violinist. 2Stanley Chapel says the two activities work well together. He adds that he has equal interest in both. But the 21-year-old says the violin has helped him succeed in speedcubing. 3Chapel is studying violin performance at the university's school of music, theater and dance. He said that ideas he learned from music study such as repetition and "breaking things down into their smallest" elements helped him get better at cubing. 4Chapel grew up in Ann Arbor, not far from where the University of Michigan is located. He solved his first 3x3 Rubik's Cube as a 14-year-old. Five weeks later, Chapel entered his first competition, solving the cube in an average of 22 seconds. 5In 2017 in Paris, Chapel placed fifth in both the 4x4 blindfolded and 5x5 blindfolded groups at the World Cube Association World Championship. 6At the 2019 world championship in Melbourne, Australia, he won both events. 7Accounting for the time it takes for him to study the cube before placing the blindfold over his eyes, Chapel can solve one in around 17 seconds. 8"The deeper I go into ... cubing technique, the more I find interest in pushing the boundaries of what's possible there," he said. 9Chapel has some strong natural abilities. He is able to remember thousands of ways to solve a Rubik's Cube and perform one of Johann Sebastian Bach's violin pieces from memory. 10But Chapel also spends many hours working on his skills. In addition, he does regular hand exercises that help him avoid the kinds of pains that come with the large amounts of time turning the cube's sides. 11Chapel says years of playing the violin also has helped him have "very, very fine motor control already built up." 12Later this year, Chapel plans to defend his world titles in South Korea. 13Once he is done with school, though, Chapel is not sure how speedcubing fits into his future plans. 14"I guess it's cool to know that nobody is able to do this," he said. "But, at the same time, giving myself a little bit of a reality check, it's like, 'How much does that actually matter?'" 15"It's not going to pay the bills when I'm older," Chapel said, laughing. 16I'm John Russell. 17Mike Householder reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 18________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20Rubik's Cube -n. a kind of plastic cube with colored squares 21violinist-n. a person who plays the violin (a kind of string instrument) 22blindfold -v. to cover the eyes of (a person) with a piece of cloth 23reality check - n. something which shows you that the real situation is different from what you believed or hoped