ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Loop algebra

Okay kiddo, have you ever played with a hula hoop? It's like a big circle that goes around and around, right? Well, just like the hula hoop, mathematicians have something called a "loop". And a loop algebra is like a bunch of these loops put together.

Now, let's imagine you have some numbers, like 1, 2, 3, and 4. And you add them together in a loop, like this: you start with 1, then add 2 to get 3, then add 3 to get 6, then add 4 to get 10. But wait! When you add 4 to 6, you get back to 1 again! So you can keep going around and around in this loop, adding the same numbers over and over again.

A loop algebra is like taking lots of these loops and putting them together in different ways. And just like with the hula hoop, you can twist and turn the loops to make different shapes. Mathematicians study loop algebras to figure out new and interesting ways to put these loops together, and how they can help them understand things like patterns and symmetries.