ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Adams–Novikov spectral sequence

Okay, so imagine you're building a really big Lego castle. You have all the pieces you need, but they're all mixed up in a big pile. You know how to put them together, but it's hard to know what order to use them in.

The Adams-Novikov spectral sequence is like a big map or guidebook for putting those Legos together in the right order. It helps you organize all the different pieces so you can build the castle in the most efficient way possible.

In math terms, the Adams-Novikov spectral sequence is a tool that helps mathematicians figure out the complicated structure of something called a "topological space". These spaces are kind of like weird, abstract shapes that mathematicians study to learn more about the underlying structure of the world around us.

The spectral sequence works by breaking down this complicated shape into simpler pieces, kind of like breaking the big pile of Legos into smaller piles by color or shape. Then, it puts the pieces back together in a way that makes sense and helps us understand the structure of the space we're studying.

It's a really important tool for many areas of math, including algebraic topology, which is all about studying these abstract shapes and figuring out what they can teach us about math, science, and the world we live in.