I admit that the first time I heard about bitcoin was in March 2013.
I knew some basic economics and basic computer science. I believe that there is only three concepts that you need to know that makes bitcoin interesting:
You can't have a currency that uses something that is not rare.
Computers are very good at copying things.
If no one is in direct control of something then everyone using it is in control of it.
I recognised these things and was fascinated, immediately and began mining. I'm not saying I understood everything about it, it took me a good 2 months to actually understand how it worked. In this time I would constantly referred back to the white paper and try to make sense of it.
I am very invested in the success of bitcoin now and it scares me... maybe beyond want I am willing to accept.