I am absolute noob with bitcoins where should I start?

[biskut]

I am absolute beginner with bitcoins. I just found out about this currency a few weeks ago from newspaper. I did some research on my own and what I have found so far is that it is a currency that is "mined" with computers (where does it come from, who issues it, is there any gold/petroleum backing it?). I am confused by this whole mining process, a lot of sites I visited say you need to solve complex mathematical problems to earn or mine bitcoin. What is this "complex" mathematical problem? Is it something like SETI@Home? Do some research labs/universities offer incentive in form of coins?
All the guides that I have found so far are either very technical or plain vanilla that leave out a lot of questions. Is there any guide that is not too technical yet explains the technical stuff in plain English?
Thanks.
-B

EDIT:

And if someone could explain the terms like altcoin, faucet, wallet, satoshi etc. that'd be really appreciated.

Thanks.

[ritot]

if ul like watch go first youtube

[bbymi]

Bitcoin is to internet as $ is to US but has no physical form.Forget about all the math stuff coz you won't be doing that, what matters is it's real currency,  no backing,  decentralized (no one can ever control it or manipulate it's value so it all depends on supply or what the miners create and the demand, which is quite high coz it's used worlwide), it's peer to peer (no third party needed to send money anywhere, banks are useless now) and is instant (or not really at the click of a finger,  maybe a few minutes to an hour,  compared to clearing etc in banks).

[bbymi]

Altcoin - alternative coin
Faucet - gives away free btc or other coins, initial purpose was to spread knowledge of btc
Wallet - your "bank account" for cryptocurrencies
Wallet address - your account number
Satoshi - 1) the creator of btc Satoshi Nakamoto, 2) cents of btc
                 

Everything else is in youtube, search topic for beginners so you won't get the technical stuff

[SlimShadyMmp]

i will recommend any bitcoin beginners books
just search online

[mk4]

You really just need to simply read. ALOT. Just like with any other skill, field, or subject you want to learn or get in to. Here's a great guide compilation that can get you started with the basics.

A Beginner's Guide to Blockchain Technology: https://www.coindesk.com/information/

[Avity]

You really just need to simply read. ALOT. Just like with any other skill, field, or subject you want to learn or get in to. Here's a great guide compilation that can get you started with the basics.

A Beginner's Guide to Blockchain Technology: https://www.coindesk.com/information/

Exactly, start reading, everything you see about bitcoin everywhere.

bitcoin.org is a good place to start with bitcoin questions.  Altcoins can be found in the subsection Altcoins in this forum, but it is basically any cryptocurrency other than bitcoin.  There are some great youtube videos and tedtalks about it as well. 

[unknownman]

I'm newbie too. Just reading and trying some faucer first to know what it work.

[praveenkumarjb]

Start reading topics here on BCT.You will gain some basic knowledge

[NakkaShashi]

Read news
1) follow bitcoin channels on youtube
2) follow BCT regularly

[SaikiranChotu]

Yes you should start here itself.Go to some channels here and read what you dont know and read more and more.

[nier00]

Hi,
You can find here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=126798.0
Commonly used abbreviations, words, names and phrases on bitcointalk/crypto community.
Good luck!

[cryptodyn]

This forum is a good start. Also have a look on youtube and use the right keywords, then you'll have thousands of hours of videos about Bitcoin, Litecoin, wallet, etc.

[carlos09]

im a newbie too start reading and explore or watch youtube so that you know what you gonna do. im just like so keep exploring...😁

[grandmasters2]

Yes dyor before buying anything people tell you to buy.

[Ninja Sword]

in my opinion, the way to start is to accept the advice of the biggest, full members, hero, legendario, read this forum, and not be afraid , I'm following this

[SlimShadyMmp]

i will recommend any bitcoin beginners books
just search online

[elllee]

Just read trends about rules and regulation in this forum. Make some research about the topic that make you interesting.

[chadzscript]

maybe you should watch video tutorials or online docs about bitcoin, but first you need online wallet or bitcoin address just search on google where you can create online wallet with bitcoin features.

[dExplorer]

Well you came to the right place to ask those so I suggest for you to read a lot in here and other threads, also do some research in google because they have articles there and watch videos in youtube because I did the same thing before.