ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Probabilistic bisimulation

Okay, imagine you have two boxes filled with different toys. You want to know if these two boxes are the same or not. One way to figure this out is by taking a toy from one box and looking for an identical toy in the other box. If you find one, it means the boxes are the same.

But what if the toys in the boxes are not exactly the same, but somewhat similar? This is where probabilistic bisimulation comes in.

Probabilistic bisimulation is like comparing the boxes of toys, but instead of looking for exact matches, we look for toys that are similar. We use probabilities to determine how likely it is for a toy in one box to be similar to a toy in the other box.

For example, let's say Box A has a yellow ball, and Box B has a red ball. These balls are not exactly the same, but they are similar because they are both round and bouncy. So, there is a high probability that they are similar.

Now, let's say Box A has a blue teddy bear, and Box B has a green teddy bear. These teddy bears are also similar because they are both soft and cuddly, but the probability of them being similar is lower than the balls because the colors are different.

To determine if the boxes are the same using probabilistic bisimulation, we calculate the probabilities of similarity for each pair of toys in the boxes. If the overall probabilities are high, it means that the boxes are very likely to be the same. If the probabilities are low, it means that the boxes are less likely to be the same.

In summary, probabilistic bisimulation is a way of comparing two things, like boxes of toys, by looking for similarities between their components. We use probabilities to measure how likely it is for these components to be similar.