ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Cubical complex

A cubical complex is like a puzzle made up of little cubes that fit together to create a bigger shape. Just like how you can put together a puzzle with different shapes and sizes of pieces, a cubical complex is made up of smaller cubes of different sizes and shapes.

Each little cube is called a cell, and they can be arranged in different ways to create different shapes. Think of the cells as the puzzle pieces, and the final shape as the completed puzzle.

The shapes that can be made with the cells are called simplices. A simplex is like a flat shape, but in the context of a cubical complex, it is made up of little cubes.

The cubical complex is made up of different levels or dimensions. Each level is like a floor of a building, and the dimensions represent how many directions we can move in at each level.

At the lowest level, we have 0-dimensional cells, which are just points, or dots. These are like the smallest possible puzzle pieces.

At the next level, we have 1-dimensional cells, which are like line segments. These can be made by connecting two points.

At the next level, we have 2-dimensional cells, which are like squares. These can be made by connecting four points to create a flat shape.

At higher levels, we have 3-dimensional cells, which are like cubes. These can be made by connecting eight points to create a solid shape.

We can keep going to higher levels and create even more complex shapes by connecting more and more points. The cubical complex can have many different levels and can be as big or as small as we want.

People use cubical complexes to study shapes and their properties. They are useful in many areas of math and science, such as computer graphics, topology, and geometry.
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