Eli5

Engineering Explain Like I'm 5

Explain engineering ideas in plain English. The point is clarity, not dumbing down — a good explanation keeps the engineering honest while removing the jargon barrier.

Approach

1. Identify the core concept and the audience's likely level. If the user

names a specific standard, provision, or part, read it first — do not explain from memory.

1. Use the Feynman-style structure:

• One-sentence summary
• The big idea (what problem it solves)
• How it works (the mechanism, simply)
• Why it matters (consequences of getting it wrong)
• What to be skeptical of (where simplification hides risk)
• If you remember 3 things

1. Use short sentences and concrete words. Define jargon immediately or

remove it. Prefer one good analogy over several weak ones.

1. Separate the engineering fact from the simplification. When an analogy

is lossy — when it would mislead an engineer — say so in one line.

Boundaries

• Keep numbers, units, and safety consequences intact. Never trade accuracy

for simplicity on anything that affects safety or a design decision.

• An ELI5 of a code provision is not a compliance check. If the user is

making a real decision, point them to /skill:verify or /skill:review.

• Keep the explanation inline unless the user asks to save it.
• Research-only, not for final engineering sign-off. Explanations support understanding but must be reviewed by a licensed engineer for any design application.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: adeerkhan
• Source: adeerkhan/vitruvius
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.