ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Singular distribution

Okay kiddo, let me explain to you what a singular distribution is. Imagine you have a bunch of toys, like teddy bears and cars, and you want to share them equally with your friends. But suddenly, you notice that you have only one special toy that nobody else has, and you don't want to share it. So, you keep that toy to yourself, and share the rest of the toys among your friends.

In the same way, a singular distribution is like having only one special thing out of many, and not being able to share it equally. In math, it means that there is a specific number or set of numbers that have a much greater chance of being selected than any other number. This can happen when a set of numbers has a lot of duplicates or when some numbers are excluded from the set.

For instance, imagine you're playing a game with five dice that only have 1s and 2s on them. If the game rules state that the sum of the five dice needs to be 10, then there is only one combination of numbers that will make the sum of 10 (1, 1, 1, 2, 5). So, that unique combination has a much higher chance of being selected than any other combination.

That's what a singular distribution is all about - having one or a few things that are different from everything else.
Related topics others have asked about: