Today, someone asked me a familiar question: “What do you do?” Without much thought, I gave my usual answer: “I’m a software engineer.” It’s a line I’ve said countless times, usually met with a polite nod and a shift in conversation. But this time, they didn’t just nod — they pressed further. They wanted to really understand what I do.

Then I found myself stumbling over my words. This wasn’t because I don’t understand my work – I know it inside out. But in trying to simplify it for someone without a technical background, I realized something important: maybe I don’t understand what is it that I do.

We all know the classic saying: if you can’t explain it to a five-year-old, you don’t truly understand it.