Cheating will never get you the perfect result.

I'm sure there are some people out there who in their frustration, trying to solve the cube, have approached the puzzle the same way I did at the age of 6 before I understood how it worked.

For someone unable to solve the cube using it's mechanical device, the quickest way to get an apparently perfectly solved puzzle is to remove each stick and then carefully rearrange these in their correct places. 

But is the result really 'perfect'? 

Peeling the stickers off and replacng them will inevitably damage some of the stickers.  These will not look as clean and smooth (or 'perfect') once the cube has been completed.  The cube will always appear worn/damaged once a person has peeled off the stickers and re-stuck them.

As well as the worn/damaged look, the cube has other issues once the stickers have been peeled off.  Stickers aren't magnets, they are not deisgned to be removed and re-positioned multiple times.  Every time a sticker is peeled off it loded some of it's stickiness.  Once the sticker is placed back onto the cube it doesn't have nearly as much strength to adhere to the cube as before.  Every time the cube is handled/messed up the stickers that once held firmly in place risk falling off.

So while cheating by pulling off the stickers and replacing them is a fast way to get an almost perfect cube, it's not really that helpful in the scheme of things.  The person who cheated to solve the cube didn't gain any skills in terms of working out ways to fix any part of the cube the next time it gets messed up.  They reduced the cosmetic beauty of their cube and they decreased the durability of the puzzle (the stickers being more vulnerable to falling off). 

Summary:
- To someone with no scientific skills in solving the Rubik's cube, the fastest way to obtain a 'solved' puzzle is to remove the stickers and reposition them into the correct places.
- Stickers are not designed to be unstuck and re-stuck.
- Stickers inevitably become damaged while being unstuck and repositioned, so even the solved cube will not be 'perfect' (just close to)...
- Once the stickers have been peeled off once they are vulnerable to falling off whenever the cube is manipulated at a later point in time; the durability of the cube is lessened.
- By not trying to work out how to solve the cube using the mechanical device, the user learns no skills in fixing either part of the cube or the entire puzzle at a later date.
- You can only cheat so many times before the stickers will no longer hold onto the cube.

Someone who cheats in life can be seen as someone who is depriving themselves the opportunity of learning skills to manage situations, damaging their overall image, decreasing their durability (how well their life holds together), and limiting themselves to a certain number of challenges they can handle before their cube is completely worn out.

(c) Arlene Taylor 2010