To put it as simply as possible, tons of computers all over the world are all running calculations attempting to guess the next “block” that contains a reward plus transaction fees. This happens roughly every 10. The more hashing power (energy) you put into the network, the better your chances at being the one that guesses the next block. Every 4 years, that reward is halved until there are no bitcoin left. 

 Who decides what the reward is? Is that part of the original concept from satoshi? If you find a bitcoin, shouldn’t it be yours? 

 It’s coded into the software and predetermined. Once the block reward is given, those coins can be spent by whoever got them however they want and are part of the total. 

Anyone can buy some, and yes, if you somehow find some and transfer it to your wallet, you now own it. 

 This is where you start losing me, and I feel as though I’m not smart enough. How does a normal, non-tech person acquire bitcoin then, if not through a centralized exchange? Seems as though people here feel those are insecure (and you are still sort of beholden to a company?), but then it’s not for everyone/anyone to find, only extremely technical people and/or companies? 

 You can buy it from an exchange like Coinbase, through an app like CashApp, or directly from another human. No need to mine or even understand how it works to acquire it.