system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 what torrents are and how they work.

I've downloaded torrents before, but I don't actually know what is happening. How is it different from any other download?
gpt
Torrents are simply ways of breaking up large files to transmit small pieces.

Think of a lego house. Trying to post that to your friend would be difficult because of the size and shape. In the case of torrents, it gets broken up, the pieces all get numbered, and then reassembled at your house on delivery.

Transferring files like this is much easier because you can turn off the download and pick up where you left off any time you like.