[streetcat1]

Here is a simple explanation:

1. The universe is composed of things.

2. We can use the computer to store information about those things (this is the data).

3. In order to gain useful insights about those things, we want to do operations on the data. I.e. to compute. computation is done by algorithms.

4. Data structures are the bridge between the data about things and the algorithm. They hold the data such that the algorithm will have an easier time computing.