ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Functional boxplot

Okay kiddo, so a functional boxplot is a special kind of graph that helps us see how data points are spread out over time. It's like taking all the points on a line and putting them in a box to see how much they vary.

Imagine you have a toy car that you play with every day. Each day, you measure how far the car goes and record it in a notebook. Now, let's say you want to see how much the car's distance varies over time.

You can use a functional boxplot to help you see this. The boxplot looks like a rectangle with a line going through it. The line represents the car's average distance, or the distance it goes most often. The rectangle represents where most of the data falls, or how far the car usually travels.

In the rectangle, there are two lines called whiskers. These lines show how far the data can stretch in either direction, or how far the car can go on really good or bad days.

When you look at the functional boxplot, you can see how often the car goes a certain distance and how much it varies over time. This can help you understand how well the car is performing and whether it needs any fixing or tuning up.

So that's what a functional boxplot is, a special kind of graph that helps you see how data points spread out over time, like measuring how far a toy car goes every day.
Related topics others have asked about: