ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Base 32

Hey there kiddo! Are you ready to learn about something cool called base 32? Let's get started!

First, let's talk about numbers. You know how we count things, right? We say "one, two, three..." all the way up to "ten." But what happens when we want to count even higher? We start over again but add another digit. So instead of just saying "eleven," we say "one-zero." And then we can count all the way up to "nineteen" before we add another digit and start over again.

That's basically what base 32 is all about. It's a way of counting things, but instead of just using the numbers 0-9, we use the letters A-Z as well. So we start by counting up to "9," and then instead of saying "ten," we say "A." Then we count all the way up to "Z," which is like our "19," and then we add another digit and start over again.

It might sound a little confusing, but it's actually really useful. For one thing, it lets us represent really big numbers with fewer characters. Instead of writing out a huge number like "1,000,000,000," we can just say "GJGJ."

Base 32 is also used in things like computer programming and cryptography, where we need to represent long strings of data in a way that's easier to work with. By using letters as well as numbers, we can fit more data into a smaller space.

So, to sum up: base 32 is a way of counting things using the numbers 0-9 and the letters A-Z. It lets us represent big numbers with fewer characters, and it's useful in computer programming and cryptography. Pretty cool, huh?
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