ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Order topology

Okay, kiddo, let's talk about the order topology. Imagine you have a line of toys, from smallest to biggest. The order they are in is important, right? You wouldn't want to play with the small toys first and then have to put them all away to play with the big toys.

The order topology is kind of like that, but for numbers. We use a number line to order the numbers from small to big, and the order the numbers are in is important.

Now, let's pretend we have some friends who like to play games that involve numbers. They want to play a game where they pick a number and everyone has to guess if the number they pick is bigger or smaller than the guessed number.

In the order topology, we use open intervals to make this game more fun. An open interval is like the space between two toys on the toy line. It's a set of numbers between two specific numbers, but not including those two numbers.

For example, if we have the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, we could create an open interval between 2 and 5. This would be all the numbers between 2 and 5, but not including 2 and 5 themselves. So the open interval would be (2, 5).

When our friends play their game, they can use open intervals to make it more organized. They can say, "I'm thinking of a number bigger than 2 but smaller than 5," and then everyone can guess using that open interval.

So, the order topology is just a way of organizing numbers on a number line using open intervals, so that we can play games and do math more easily. Pretty cool, huh?