Although I think I've played a lot of games, my ability is still very low. I've never read any books on chess. Perhaps this explains my poor games.

As I'm starting to research chess online, I'm left wondering why people focus on particular openings. Surely these are all well researched by people, and you'd end up just playing through the motions of what a computer would do in certain situations. Why don't people open with more randomness, in a sort-of pieces scattered to the wind style? Surely opponents won't be expecting it and games will be played anew for both players.

Should you think the above is rubbish, please point towards a book or site that I should read.