Mining - What is it?

What is Mining?

It's a way to earn BitCoins. You "mine" by using a program such as GUI Miner. The program uses the resources from your computer's video card, and uses these resources to process transactions for people who want to transfer BitCoins to other people. In return of using your resources for making all of this happen, you get BitCoins.

 

Why is it called mining?

Picture yourself mining for a diamond. You have to mine a certain amount of layers to get to the diamond. Each of these layers tells you that the diamond, is in fact a diamond, and not a fake one.

When mining for BitCoins, these layers work as security layers. Making sure that there can't be transferred any counterfeit.

This means that you contribute in verifying all transactions.

A longer but very simple explanation can be found here.