ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Bicategory

A bicategory is like a special kind of club that has a few very important rules. The people in this club are special kinds of objects, like balls or toys or even other clubs! And just like in any club, there are special ways that these objects can interact with each other.

The first rule of the club is that there are special ways to combine two objects in the club to get a new object. This is like when you combine two toys to make a new toy, like when you combine your blocks with your friend's blocks to make a tower together. When you combine two objects in the club, it's called a "composition".

But there's more! Sometimes, you can combine three objects in the club to get a new object too! This is like when you and two friends build a huge castle out of blocks together. When you combine three objects in the club, it's called a "triple composition".

Finally, the last rule of the club is that there are special ways that the objects in the club can interact with each other. This is like when you and your friends play a game together and have to pass toys around or take turns. The way that the objects can interact with each other is called a "morphism".

So, in summary: a bicategory is a special kind of club with objects that can be composed in special ways to make new objects, and can interact with each other in special ways called morphisms.