{"slug": "eli5", "title": "ELI5", "summary": "Anthropic researcher Thariq shared a prompt skill called `/eli5` that generates simple, visual explanations of complex topics, and a test on neural networks produced a clear dataflow diagram after one follow-up request to fix colors. The skill strips out formulas and math, making it useful for learning and collaboration.", "body_md": "# ELI5\n\n[Thariq at Anthropic posted](https://x.com/trq212/status/2090884854590382515) that it’s a skill people there have been using a lot recently: `/eli5 <what you want to explain>`\n\n.\n\nI tried it on neural networks. [Here’s what it made](https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/dedbd15e-76ff-4cdf-9ac7-eaf317d947e4).\n\nThe first pass had bad colors, low contrast, hard to read. One follow-up prompt asking for a color fix and it was done.\n\nNo formulas, no sigmoid, no softmax, none of the math that actually makes a neural network work. It’s missing for good. What’s left is the dataflow — inputs go in, get combined, come out the other end as a decision — drawn simply enough to follow at a glance.\n\nThat’s the trade the skill makes, and it’s the right one for someone who isn’t about to read a textbook. eli5 is good exactly because it throws out the complexity most explanations lead with. I imagine this isn’t just for self-learning — it’s a genuinely useful tool for collaboration, communication, meetings. Conveying an idea isn’t easy. ;P\n\nUpdated at 2026-08-23. The neural network example is ported to [julin.ai](/2026/08/23/neural-network-eli5/) now.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/eli5", "canonical_source": "https://julin.ai/2026/08/22/eli5-neural-networks/", "published_at": "2026-08-21 12:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-26 23:19:53.263601+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-tools"], "entities": ["Anthropic", "Thariq", "Claude"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/eli5", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/eli5.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/eli5.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/eli5.jsonld"}}