Junior solves Rubik’s Cubes in a matter of seconds at competition

Junior Milo Maher can solve a Rubik’s Cube in a matter of seconds— 9.03 seconds, to be exact.

“It’s a ton of fun,” Maher said. “Anyone can learn how to [solve a Rubik’s Cube] online. The people who average seven seconds learned to do it online. I learned how to do it online. And you can always figure out more yourself, but it’s really neat to know that those resources are out there.”

Maher first started to play with Rubik’s Cubes in the eighth grade, but it wasn’t until two years ago that he got serious about it.

“I definitely practice,” Maher said. “There’s always more to learn, more algorithms or sets of moves to solve different ways the cube is set up. The more you practice, the more you’re going to figure out, or the more you research, the more you’re going to find.”

This practice has enabled Maher to place in competitions like Westlake Open 2016, a speed-solving competition that took place in Austin earlier this month.

“[Westlake Open] was the fourth competition that I’ve been to,” said Maher. “I got 14th place in 3×3 and fifth place in 2×2 and worse places in other events that I don’t practice as much, but I compete in because it’s fun.”

Not many people can do what Maher does, so solving a cube in public can really attract some attention.

“I’ll [solve Rubik’s Cubes] sometimes in class or at lunch or on the bus if I have one,” Maher said. “Sometimes people will just say, ‘Oh wow, that’s really amazing, that’s really neat,’ and then sometimes I’ll just be sitting there kind of in my own zone, and I’ll hear someone whispering. There was this one lady who was talking on the phone on the bus, and she was speaking Spanish, and I think she knew I couldn’t speak Spanish, but when she said Rubik’s Cube I knew she was talking about me. It was a little neat but also, like, I’m not trying to show off.”

But show off he can.

“Theoretically I could solve however big of a cube you put in front of me because after a certain point you just can apply previous knowledge to higher order cubes,” Maher said. “I have a 7×7 [cube]. It’s pretty intimidating I guess, but I can do it.”