[syncsynchalt]

If like me you're interested in the basics of elliptic curves, point addition, and the abelian groups that result then check the first third of my page at https://curves.xargs.org. It only gets you half way to an understanding of this article but might leave you less mystified.

You can also continue through the rest of that page to see how we use this math in cryptography, such as in key exchange.

[throwaway81523]

That sounds great and I'll try to look. I liked Neal Koblitz's book "A Course in Number Theory and Cryptography" a while back, another resource that might be of interest.

[arunc]

The animations makes it easier to comprehend indeed. Thanks!