ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Spherical error

Okay kiddo, let me explain spherical error to you like you're five years old.

Have you ever tried to catch a ball, but missed because you didn't have the right position to catch it? Well, that's kind of like what spherical error is.

Our eyes have a shape sort of like a soccer ball, which helps us see things clearly. But sometimes, our eyeballs aren't perfectly shaped, which can cause things to look blurry or distorted. This is called spherical error.

It's kind of like if the ball you were trying to catch was the wrong shape, like maybe it was more like a football instead of a soccer ball. It would be harder to catch it because your hands wouldn't be in the right position for that shape of ball.

For people who have spherical error, they might need glasses or contacts to help them see clearly. These glasses or contacts are made specifically to adjust for the shape of their eyeballs, so things don't look blurry anymore. That way, they can catch the ball every time!