Bitcoin is difficult to understand.
But why???
To understand it it would be ideal to understand:
Math.
Finance.
Policy.
Economy.
Games theory.
Energy.
And energy markets.
Methane emissions.
Physical.
Information technology.
Cybersecurity.
The history of money.
Central Banking.
Austrian economy.
Keynesian economics.
Math.
Money.
Fiat.
Inflation.
Shortage.
Fiat currency.
Merkle trees.
Cryptography.
Public key cryptography.
Elliptic curve.
Hashes.
Digital signatures.
Sha256.
Work test.
Peer to peer networks.
Cryptographic timestamp.
Smart contracts.
Timechain.
Social dynamics.
Monetary politics.
Open source development.
Human or social behavior.
Law.
Network theory.
National security.
Decentralization.
True digital property.
Credit markets.
Invest.
The way governments work.
Society.
Family.
Geopolitics.
Macroeconomy.
Human rights.
......
Understanding Bitcoin is not a test of intelligence. It's a test of ego. You have to be able to admit that you were wrong. h/t NickDPayton.
......
Bitcoin surprises for many reasons.
Computer scientists say Satoshi solved the problem of the Byzantine generals and blew them away.
Economists might be baffled by an asset rising in price without producers increasing production to increase supply.
Oil drillers say finding a cleaner, more cost-effective alternative to flaring excess gas was mind-blowing.
Human rights advocates say being able to own an asset that cannot be confiscated in a corrupt country, allowing people to increase their wealth and escape tyranny, was mind-blowing.
Power plant operators will say that mining's load balancing ability is mind-boggling.
Merchants or users of remittance services will say that the fact that BTC reduces friction and fees is mind-blowing.
Some might say that Bitcoin encourages savings and long-term thinking is mind-blowing.
If Bitcoin hasn't blown you away, you simply haven't seen it through the right lens yet.
h/t lopp
......
“Because I love bitcoin and I never get tired of studying it even if it takes years and years. Because bitcoin is an interdisciplinary creature, we could say that it is an all-rounder and to understand and delve into bitcoin you need to have at least three big areas that you are good at, technology, systems and cryptography. To begin with, economics and finance and politics. So an expert in each of these areas could say that bitcoin in the end is not so cool, efficient and innovative because it is not considering the whole picture. It is not enough to know just one of these areas. It is not even enough to know three, because you have to understand that bitcoin is a complex system where each part depends on the others and that is why it is vital to delve deeper into these intersections. For example, you cannot do without game theory or other ecosystems that bitcoin intercepts. Business, law, e-commerce, sociology, there are a lot. Now I'll give you an example. An engineer who only focuses on the technical part would perhaps say that bitcoin is not that innovative. But it's because he loses sight of the idealistic implications, that is, why bitcoin was created. Or the intertwined genius of economic incentives that sustain the entire system. A pure investor would not grasp the technological commitments or a pure activist would not grasp the financial implications well and this extreme multidisciplinarity is the reason why I cannot leave bitcoin, because I delve into something and something else appears to delve deeper and this has been the case for years, no I want to get out of this rabbit hole.”
#bitcoin 
