As a newbie in crypto, I will also feel that "what is this?" "How do people earn from this?"
Bitcoin is just another form of money, nothing else. You don't have to have deep technical knowledge in order to use bitcoin and earn Bitcoin. Bitcoin is pretty easy to use and earn and, at the same time, it is pretty hard to fully comprehend.
Yup! That's right. But actually, bitcoin supposed to become more of a currency than a stor of value. But anyway, that's not the point here so nevermind.
Honestly, I think all of us need to familiarize btc's technicalities. Not whole aspects but at least the basics. Know the jargons, how the system work and simple do's and don'ts as well; so that you will minimize the risk of making bad decisions which sooner leads to losing and to avoid the traps of scammers too.