ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hyperreal number line

Okay kiddo, so you know how we use regular numbers like 1, 2, 3, and so on to count things and do math, right? Well, sometimes when we're doing really complicated math, we need something more than just regular numbers. That's where hyperreal numbers come in.

A hyperreal number line is like a really fancy number line. Instead of just having regular numbers like 1, it also has hyperreal numbers, which are like numbers that are really really close to regular numbers, but not quite the same. It's like when you play with a toy car and you have a really big road, but you also have tiny roads that are hard to see. The hyperreal numbers are like those tiny roads.

Now, you might be thinking, "Why do we need these hyperreal numbers anyway?" Well, sometimes in math, we need to talk about really big things or really small things. Regular numbers only go so far, so we need something more precise. Hyperreal numbers help us talk about those things more precisely.

But don't worry, we don't use hyperreal numbers all the time! We usually stick to regular numbers for most things. But when we need to get really precise or complicated, that's when we bring out the hyperreal number line.

Make sense, kiddo?