ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Abel summation

Ok kiddo, what is Abel summation? Well, imagine you have a long list of numbers, let's say, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Now, what if you add them up? You get 1+2+3+4+5=15, right?

Now, what if you want to add up this long list of numbers, but in a special way, where you only add up the first number, the first two numbers, the first three numbers, and so on up to the whole list? That's what Abel summation does.

So, you start by adding only the first number, which is 1. Then, you add the first two numbers, which is 1+2=3. Then, you add the first three numbers, which is 1+2+3=6. And so on, until you add up all the numbers, which is 1+2+3+4+5=15.

Abel summation is a clever way of adding up a long list of numbers by adding them up in a special way. By doing this, we might be able to simplify some complicated equations and problems, and better understand how things work in science and math.
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