ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Guru Meditation

Imagine you are playing with a toy and suddenly it stops working. You try to press all the buttons, but the toy is still not working. This is similar to a computer program that suddenly stops working and shows an error message that says "Guru Meditation."

"Guru Meditation" is a term that was first used in the 1980s by the computer company Commodore. It is an error message that appears on the screen of their Amiga computers when the computer encounters a critical error that it cannot recover from.

The message "Guru Meditation" sounds funny, but it actually means that there is a serious problem with the computer that needs to be fixed. It is like a warning sign that tells the computer user that something is wrong.

When the computer encounters a critical error, it tries to recover by restarting itself. But if it cannot recover, it shows the "Guru Meditation" message and stops working.

To fix the problem, the user has to figure out what caused the error and then take appropriate actions, such as restarting the computer, repairing software or hardware, or seeking help from a computer technician.

In summary, the term "Guru Meditation" is a funny-sounding error message that appears on some computers when they encounter a serious problem that needs to be fixed. It is important to take the message seriously and take appropriate steps to fix the problem so that the computer can start working again.
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