I've read about 10 pages on unix permissions. So far I've learned that a directory is a file with a listing of subdirectories and files. And the d in drwxr-xr-x indicates the file is a directory. And if it begins with -, it's a file -rwxr-xr-x. Also the - separates permissions of the Owner - Group - World. r = read w=write x=execute. Pretty simple.
What I don't understand is the r listed twice in the Owner section. None of the pages I've read explain this or I missed it somewhere.