'To understand' something can mean all kinds of different things. You don't really need to understand how smtp/pop work to use email or how https works to be [r

'To understand' something can mean all kinds of different things. You don't really need to understand how smtp/pop work to use email or how https works to be [reasonably] sure your credit card number you're sending over the wire to an online vendor won't be stolen in flight. Same with Bitcoin. You acquire it, you use a piece of software called 'the wallet' to store it and you either share your 'Bitcoin address' with someone to send Bitcoin your way or they give you their address for you to send the btc to. That's really it in a nutshell :)