ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Pseudotensor

Okay kiddo, have you ever played with a ball before? When you throw it or kick it, the ball moves in a certain direction, right? And you can say whether the ball is going forwards or backwards, or up or down.

Now imagine there's something called spacetime, which is like a big playground where everything in the universe happens. Scientists use something called tensors to describe how things move and interact in this spacetime playground. Think of tensors like the rules of the game that tell you how the ball is going to move.

But sometimes, there's a tricky situation where the rules don't work exactly the way they should. This is where pseudotensors come in. They are like a special set of rules that try to fix the problem and describe what's happening more accurately.

But here's the thing, kiddo: pseudotensors can be a bit confusing and tricky to use. They are like a "fake tensor" that doesn't behave exactly how it's supposed to. Scientists have to be really careful when they use pseudotensors, because if they're not, they might get the wrong answer or description of what's happening.

So, to sum up: pseudotensors are like a special set of rules that scientists use when the regular rules don't quite work. They're a bit like a fake tensor and can be tricky to use, but they help us get a better understanding of what's happening in the big playground of spacetime.