ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Gordon decomposition

Have you ever played with LEGOs? Imagine you have a big LEGO tower that is made up of many small pieces. The tower looks complicated, so you want to break it down into smaller, simpler parts.

Gordon decomposition is like breaking down the LEGO tower, but instead of LEGO pieces, we're talking about math equations. Just like how the LEGO tower is made up of many small pieces, a math equation can be made up of smaller equations.

When we break down a math equation, we use something called "prime factors." Imagine you have a number, like 12. 12 can be broken down into smaller factors: 2 and 6. Then, 6 can be broken down into 2 and 3. So the prime factors of 12 are 2, 2, and 3.

Gordon decomposition does something similar with math equations. We break down the equation into smaller parts using prime factors. Then, we put them back together in a simpler way. It's like taking a complicated LEGO tower and building a simpler one with just a few pieces.

In math terms, Gordon decomposition helps us simplify equations by breaking them down into "irreducible" parts. These parts can't be broken down into any smaller parts. Then, we can put those parts back together in a simpler way to help solve the equation.

So, just like breaking down a big LEGO tower into smaller parts to make it easier to play with, Gordon decomposition breaks down complicated math equations into smaller parts to make them easier to understand and solve.