Simplifying $\frac{x^6-1}{x-1}$ I have this:
$$\frac{x^6-1}{x-1}$$
I know it can be simplified to $1 + x + x^2 + x^3 + x^4 + x^5$
Edit : I was wondering how to do this if I didn't know that it was the same as that.

here is how i explain this: look at the numbers $9, 99, 999, 9999, \cdots$ in base ten. they are $9  = 10 -1, 99 = (10-1)*11 = 10^2 - 1, 999 = (10-1)*111 = 10^3 - 1, 9999 = (10-1)*1111 = 10^4 - 1$ and the left hand side has the factor $9 = (10-1)$. now you can rewrite the string of equations in the form $$(10 -1) = 1(10 -1),\\ (10^2 - 1) = (10 + 1)(10-1),\\ (10^3 - 1) = (10^2 + 10 + 1)(10-1),\\ (10^4 - 1) = (10^3 + 10^2 + 10 + 1)(10-1), \cdots.$$
now to get your identity think of the polynomials as numbers expressed in base $x,$ that is replace $10$ in the above equations by $x.$
