I’ll make this explanation as short as I can.
First, you must understand that the Lightning Network is not like other networks in that you cannot simply connect to another user whenever you want.
To send or receive bitcoins, you need either a payment channel with that specific user, or a linked series of payment channels (a “route”).
It’s pointless to create a payment channel for the sole purpose of sending an off-chain transaction, since it requires an on-chain transaction to open the channel (and another one to close). You might as well just send an on-chain transaction instead; you don’t need the LN.
The idea is that you’re supposed to be able to route your payment to any destination through a series of connections. From the viewpoint of a user, the potential path to anyone else looks like a tree structure:
It Starts Off Like a Basic Math Problem
We