ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Gauss–Seidel method

The gauss-seidel method is like a game of guessing and checking in math, but with rules to make sure we get the right answer. Imagine you have a big math problem that you need to solve, but it's too hard to do all at once. Gauss-seidel method helps you break it down into smaller parts that are easier to solve.

Here's how it works:

1. You start by guessing what the answer might be for each part of the problem.

2. Then you use those guesses to improve each guess a little bit at a time.

3. You keep doing this until your guesses are very close to the right answer.

It's like making a guess and then getting a hint for how to make a better guess. You keep doing this until you get the best possible guess.

Here's an example:

Let's say we have a math equation like this:

4x + 3y = 10

2x + 5y = 14

We want to solve for x and y, but we don't know where to start. We can use the gauss-seidel method to break it down into smaller parts.

1. We start by guessing what x and y might be. Let's say we guess:

x = 0 and y = 0

2. Then we use those guesses to improve each guess a little bit at a time. We use the first equation to solve for x:

4x + 3y = 10

4(0) + 3y = 10

y = 10/3

Now we have a better guess for y:

x = 0 and y = 10/3

3. We keep doing this until our guesses are very close to the right answer. We use the second equation to solve for x:

2x + 5y = 14

2(0) + 5(10/3) = 14

x = (14 - 50/3)/2

x = 4/3

Now we have a better guess for x:

x = 4/3 and y = 10/3

4. We keep doing this until our guesses are very close to the right answer. This time, when we solve for x and y, we get the right answer:

4x + 3y = 10

4(4/3) + 3(10/3) = 10

2x + 5y = 14

2(4/3) + 5(10/3) = 14

x = 2, y = 2

And that's how the gauss-seidel method works! We make a guess, use that guess to make a better guess, and keep doing that until we get the right answer.