NATALIE KENWAY
GLOBAL HEAD OF ESG INSIGHT
ESG CLARITY
Score prediction: FRANCE 5 – HUNGARY 0
INVESTMENT INSIGHT:
Hungary is the birthplace of one of the most maddening inventions known to man. The Rubik’s cube. The 3D puzzle was created in 1974 by Budapest-born Ernö Rubik and first sold as a toy three years later.
For the traditional 3x3x3 cube, there are approximately 43 quintillion permutations – that’s 18 zeros after the 43 for anyone struggling to quickly pin down how big a number that is. So, it’s little surprise that apps have been created to help people solve the cube.
A study by Berkeley University found that humans require 50-60 turns to solve it, while computers need a maximum of 20 rotations.
The world record for solving a Rubik’s cube is 3.47 seconds. Yes – seconds. That is not a typo. The holder is China’s Yusheng Du.
Compare this to the inventor who said, in an interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel in 2010, that it took him several weeks to solve it the first time he tried.
Rubik’s invention made him a multi-millionaire. It reached peak popularity in the 1980s and now feels very much like an analogue toy in a digital age.
But I defy you to find anyone who doesn’t know what it is. Statistics suggest that at least one in every seven people on the planet has tried to solve it. Few would have guessed back in the late 1970s that it would have been such a success. And such a long-term financial success at that.
THIERRY GUERILLOT
HEAD OF FUND SELECTION
MYRIA ASSET MANAGEMENT
Score prediction: FRANCE 2 – HUNGARY 0
INVESTMENT INSIGHT:
France is clearly a country of inventors. We find a lot of these creations or discoveries that have been revolutionising our day-to-day lives in, for example:
Transportation – airplanes, cars, high-speed trains, bicycles.
Entertainment and hobbies – photography, cinema.
Health – anesthesia, microbiology, blood transfusions.
Technology – adding machine, drones, 3D printer, chip card, augmented reality glasses.
The list goes on…
