instruction: Give me a simple summary of idempotency
context: Idempotence (UK: /ˌɪdɛmˈpoʊtəns/, US: /ˈaɪdəm-/) is the property of certain operations in mathematics and computer science whereby they can be applied multiple times without changing the result beyond the initial application. The concept of idempotence arises in a number of places in abstract algebra (in particular, in the theory of projectors and closure operators) and functional programming (in which it is connected to the property of referential transparency).
  
  The term was introduced by American mathematician Benjamin Peirce in 1870 in the context of elements of algebras that remain invariant when raised to a positive integer power, and literally means "(the quality of having) the same power", from idem + potence (same + power).
response: Idempotency is a mathematical property where if you apply an operation multiple times, the result remains the same -- just as if you had only applied the operation once. Idempotency can grant you at-most-once semantics.