In 1974, Erno Rubik, a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture, invented the Rubik cube, a three dimensional puzzle with six faces, each one a different colour. Each side consisted of nine faces, and an interval pivot device allowed each face to move independently, thus mixing the colours. The Rubik’s cube was released in 1980, starting a worldwide craze of trying to solve the puzzle that was advertised as having over three billion combinations; it is actually forty-three quintillion. Between 1980 and 1983, it was estimated that over 200 million units were sold, and today, it is considered as the best-selling toy of all time.
Millions of people were left (and still are) frustrated in their attempts to return the cube to its original position once it was mixed, and soon abandoned the problem in despair. Several solutions were discovered independently, and among the solvers was a twelve-year-old, Patrick Bossert, from the UK. He broke his hand on a family ski trip to Switzerland, and whilst confined to the chalet for two weeks, figured out how to solve the cube given to him by his cousin. His bestselling booklet, ‘You Can Do The Cube,’ included graphic annotations and was designed to be easily understood by everyone. Today, he uses his problem-solving skills as a management consultant.
Two regular Sunday columnists of this publication, Ian McDonald – ‘Ian on Sunday’ ‒ and Dave Martins ‒ ‘So It Go’ ‒ last Sunday examined the 50 year-old Rubik’s cube that Guyana has become today. The former, with decades of experience in the sugar industry, made macroeconomic suggestions to the government, whilst the latter, the founder of the famous Tradewinds band, reflected on the people’s coping mechanisms for all the chaos and problems they are confronted with on a daily basis: “We simply step around it and keep moving”. Martins’ summary caption, ‘Dis is Guyana,’ DIG in acronym format, is likely to become the general accepted solution to life here, just as his ‘Not a blade of grass’ song is the unofficial anthem.
The entrepreneurs have taken Onassis’s approach to the real life Rubik’s cube, ie, here is a dilemma and an opportunity sharing the same space. They sat down like Bossert identified the problem, dissected it, figured out an approach, rolled up their sleeves and got down to work. Everyday nuisances such as taxes, brazen minibus drivers, parking meters, official policies, rules and regulations will always be there, regardless of country, time or government.
A few examples would suffice: the hospitality/tourism developer who focuses his advertising in Miami, New York and Toronto, who is always busy, who in every conversation is refining his expansion plans; the leather craftsman who has achieved vertical integration in his field by adding the title of tanner to his resume; the transportation businessman who regards his entity with a service first mentality, and has instilled the attributes of punctuality and courtesy in his workers as he seeks to take it to another level; the vegetable grower who is constantly expanding his produce line and export market; and the re-migrant who seems to have culled the social aspect of life with another prism and found that there are three foreign languages to be learnt for free or at a very minimal cost, there is one of the few Level Four Elite squash coaches in the world right here, and international yoga classes are to be had for a song, to give away a few of his findings. Added to those are the ultimate drawing cards, sunshine galore, no snow, no natural disasters, hardly any industrial polluted air, organic food at prices unheard of abroad and an easier pace of life.
No one is saying it is a bed of roses; it is far from that. The bizarre and the unexplained are part and parcel of the landscape wherever you go. For instance, try explaining that to the Guyanese consultant based in one of the more sophisticated cities in Europe, standing on the opposite side of the street on Christmas Eve night, totally befuddled by the fact that a swarm of the younger generation is lined up outside one of the popular night spots in the city. The venue is jammed to the seams, people are unable to take a step in any direction, clouds of cigarette smoke hover above, exiting patrons are bathed in perspiration as they try to push their way out of the potential fire trap, and still the line to enter gets longer.
His thoughts for the future? I’m retiring here, this is an incredible place, after all, it’s home.
As ‘Ian on Sunday’ concluded, “We will never get where we want to go with the way lit only by standby generators”, or if you think Bossert or someone will write a booklet for you, “You lie, you lie”, to take a line from Dave Martins and the Tradewinds’ song ‘Famous Lies.’
The choice is clear. The Rubik’s cube is in our hands; we can put it aside in despair, or we can make a serious attempt at solving it.
