ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Pseudo-Boolean function

A pseudo-boolean function is like a rulebook for counting things. It is a way to tell you how many things you have by using some rules. It can help you figure out how many apples you have or how many toys you have in your room.

Let’s pretend you have some apples. You can count them easily by putting them all in a basket and start counting one by one. But what if you have too many apples and it takes a long time to count them all?

That’s where a pseudo-boolean function comes in handy. It is like a magic rulebook that tells you how many apples you have without actually counting them.

For example, let's say you have three green apples and two red apples. A pseudo-boolean function could be something like:

(Number of green apples x 5) + (Number of red apples x 2) = total number of apples

So using this rulebook, you can figure out how many apples you have without physically counting them.

This same method can be used for more complex things like counting toys in a room. You can create a pseudo-boolean function that looks at the different types of toys and assign a different value to each type of toy. Then, by using some math, you can figure out how many total toys you have.

So, in summary, a pseudo-boolean function is a special rulebook that helps you count things without physically counting them.