ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hilbert's axioms

Hey buddy! Have you ever played with building blocks that snap together? Imagine you have a big bucket of blocks and you want to make a castle with them. But, there are some rules you have to follow to make sure your castle is built correctly. These are called Hilbert's axioms.

Hilbert's axioms are a set of rules for building geometry puzzles, just like the rules for building a castle with building blocks. However, these rules are not as simple as "snap your blocks together." They are a bit more complex!

There are 21 different axioms, or rules, that govern how you can put together your geometry puzzles. These rules are designed to make sure that every puzzle you make is built using the same set of fundamentals. That way, you can compare your puzzles with other people's puzzles and know that they are built using the same set of rules.

For example, one of the rules says that if you draw a line, you should be able to extend it infinitely in both directions. This means you can pretend the line goes on forever, even if you can't see it.

Another rule says that if you have two points, you should be able to draw a line between them. This makes sense because you need a line to connect two points!

These rules might sound simple, but they are actually incredibly important for understanding geometry. They help us build buildings, design maps, and even send rockets to space!

So, in short, Hilbert's axioms are like the rules for building a puzzle with blocks. They help us make sure all our geometry puzzles are built using the same fundamentals so we can compare and understand them better.
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