Can you get better just by playing a lot?

Play, play, analyze et invenies occultum lapidem

if you analyze it and find the mistakes

The Irish drink more per capita than any other nation....I give them credit, they even beat the Ruskys.

Actually, they used to drink the most.....things have changed, I guess....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_consumption_per_capita

Actually it's a good analogy comparing Rubik's Cube to chess, as both are complicated games and to improve in either, it's much more effective to learn from experts than to work it out yourself. Of course Rubik's Cube and chess are not the same thing, but since analogies are, by definition, comparing different things, saying that they are not the same is hardly an argument against an analogy.. Also, claiming "false equivalence" doesn't work here, because chess is a more strategic and complex game than Rubik's Cube and so, if anything, DragonPhoenixSlayer's point that studying is needed to improve is even more pertinent in chess.

I remember the advice my friend gave me when we were in highschool: learn the basics, like opening principles, endgame fundamentals, having a plan, learning positional play, doing tactics, hire a coach or play constantly with someone highly rated even if you have to lose money ( betting game against hustlers); because he said once you become good you can have all the fun! Besides, how can you have fun when you lose a lot?

There are plenty of people on chess.com and other sites that play a lot but never make much improvement. Finding the right balance between playing chess and studying is key I think.