[HeyLaughingBoy]

... or to learn what the abstractions are, why they are used, and break through them to learn the basic steps.

What you describe is a very common problem on electronics forums. Consumer electronics are cheap, sophisticated and ubiquitous, so the newcomer to electronics DIY thinks that a cell phone as a first project should be easy and then gets angry when everyone tells him how hard it is to actually design & build one and that he should start by learning how to make an Arduino blink an LED instead.

When I consider all the problems that had to be solved to make a disposable $20 phone, it's absolutely mindblowing that we could ever have reached this point in technology.