It seems to be implied, but I'm not taking anything for granted so my suggestion is thus: Maths. What do you know about math? Start there. You will be quickly

It seems to be implied, but I'm not taking anything for granted so my suggestion is thus: Maths. What do you know about math? Start there. You will be quickly asea if you are innumerate. Don't even think about reading any of the suggested literature (some very good suggestions, too...) without a good grounding in mathematics all the way through the Calculus. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the maths that may have helped inform any knowledge of computers and/or computation, will translate cleanly. Understand the maths first. You will then be able to understand where the authors, such as Michael Lewis and others, gloss over the mathematics to make the story more palatable to the 'average reader'. It's not that they do this deliberately, as much as their editors force them to do so. (Possibly apocryphal story: when Stephen Hawking submitted a first draft of "A Brief History of Time" it was rejected on the theory that each equation included in the manuscript would halve the sales... and he had so many equations that, it was quipped, "people would need to be paid to read it..." ) As for "what questions to ask for", start with the clear and explicit: "who's expecting to make money...? And how do they expect to make it?" This will lead you to interest rates and bond coupons, dividends, etc... But make certain you understand the math.