ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Composition algebra

Composition algebra is like a set of toys that let you do super cool things with numbers. You know how you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers? Well, with composition algebra, you can do even cooler things like combining two numbers together to make a new number with special and magical properties.

Let's say you have two numbers, called x and y. You can use composition algebra to combine them in different ways to get a new number, like this:

- x + y (addition)
- x * y (multiplication)
- x / y (division)
- x - y (subtraction)

But the really cool thing about composition algebra is that you can also combine numbers in more complex ways. For example, you can use something called the "composition operation" to combine x and y into a new number, like this:

- (x,y) = x ⊙ y

The ⊙ symbol here is called the "composition symbol" and it tells us to combine x and y in a special way. The result of this "composition operation" is a new number that has some special properties, like being able to undo the composition operation and being related to other numbers in a cool way.

You can use composition algebra to do all sorts of cool things with numbers, like solving equations, calculating distances between points, and even understanding the geometry of objects. And the best part is that you can use it to do all of these things in a really simple and elegant way that makes math a lot more fun and exciting!

So, in summary, composition algebra is like a magic toy that helps you combine numbers in really cool and special ways. It's a way to take math to the next level and explore the amazing world of numbers and their properties.
Related topics others have asked about: