ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Girvan–Newman algorithm

The Girvan-Newman algorithm is a method that helps us understand how people in a group are connected to each other. Imagine you're in a big class with lots of other kids. You might be friends with some of them and not know others. You might also see that some kids hang out with each other more than others.

The Girvan-Newman algorithm helps us figure out those connections. It looks at how many friends a person has and how those friends are also friends with each other. Using that information, we can identify smaller groups within the larger class.

The algorithm works by taking away the connections between groups of people one at a time. Each time we take away a connection, we see which kids are no longer connected to each other. We keep doing this until we find all the smaller groups within the big class.

This is important because knowing the connections between people can help us understand things about the group as a whole. For example, if we know that a lot of kids who have a lot of friends also have high grades, we might be able to help other kids improve their grades by connecting them with those high-performing friends.

Overall, the Girvan-Newman algorithm helps us understand how people are connected to each other in a larger group, which can be really helpful for understanding how the group works as a whole.