The cover story 'Stumped' (#179) came with a picture of a cube. Being an avid fan of the "cube" problem and having successfully attempted at solving various cubes in the past, I took a closer look at the different faces of the cube to figure out a "step-wise-solution" to the problem. Initially, it looked quite easy. All I needed was some thoughtful, logical procedures to arrange the parts in its appropriate positions. However, on closer scrutiny, it came to my attention that given the state of the cube as presented in the picture, it is practically impossible to solve the problem. And the problem lies with the parts of the Thapa, the Maoist and the king.

Let me explain with the picture. As you can see, the yellow Thapa piece at the left-bottom corner has occupied both the side of the same cube-corner. Logically, each corner can only accommodate three pieces of different identity. Therefore, no matter in which orientation we try to fit this Thapa piece, it will always be a mismatch with respect to the other faces.

Similarly the red Maoist piece at the right bottom centre also has a design flaw as it occupies both the faces of the same piece, thus rendering it unadjustable with any of the other faces. And finally, the grey-shade king happens to occupy the central position of the bottom and right faces. Logically, each face must be of a different identity (colour) for the cube to be solved. Thus, as long as we do not replace one of the two centre piece kings, the cube will continue to stump us-literally and metaphorically.

Surendra Sthapit,
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