Splash1,
You can sure ask hard questions! 'Hard' because is really just depends on what you think you want to do. There are so many different aspects to ham radio that it's almost impossible to give a good account of all of them. The very most basic idea is 'communications', talking to other people, sometimes seriously, sometimes not. Then it starts getting complicated by how you do that communicating. As in almost any mode you can think of from CW to voice, RTTY, TV, digital stuff, satellites, and on and on like you might not believe. Running power is probably one of the least important things of the whole mess.
That certainly doesn't tell you much but it's a sort of 'start'. Probably the first place to start finding out about this stuff is the ARRL web site, where you can find licensing information. If you happen to have one close to where you live, finding a ham club is a very good way to see what's happening near you. Expect to experience some reluctance on the club members part till they find out just what you are wanting to do. Not really a 'ham' thing, but typical for any club/organization dealing with anything.
Getting a license is necessary, but probably the 'easiest' part of figuring out what this stuff is 'all about', possibilities, attitudes, etc. Keeping an open mind is a very good idea.
Do all the reading about this stuff that you can. I'll bet there will be certain aspects that will really 'grab' you, and some that will leave you 'cold', and some that you ain't gonna believe anyway! It ain't gonna be quick, just too much 'stuff' to find out about (been doing this stuff for over 35 years and still ain't scratched much beyond the surface, sort of).
Try it! You'll like it. Don't like it? Try something else.
- 'Doc
Hope you like 'playing' with numbers, 'math' is a part of it. So are rules. Big deal, got them rules everywhere.