ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ambient manifold

Ok kiddo, do you know what a map is? It's like a picture that shows where things are. Now imagine a really big map that can tell you where everything is in the whole world.

Well, an ambient manifold is kind of like a map, but for a really big and complicated shape called a manifold. A manifold is like a very bumpy and twisty shape that mathematicians like to study.

But sometimes it's hard to understand the twists and turns of a manifold just by looking at it. So, mathematicians draw an ambient manifold around the original manifold, like a big map, to help them see the shape more clearly.

The ambient manifold is like a special space that includes the original manifold and made it easier to study. It's like a big bubble that surrounds the shape and helps the mathematicians to understand it better.