Very well articulated! I’ve thought about this before too. There is an assumption of having a “baseline knowledge and skill set” to be able to use most recipes. If you’re really starting from scratch (like I was a few years ago), the best thing you can do is to start trying and failing. I take meticulous notes on the things I cook to help me learn and improve.

Take your example of heat on a pan. I’ve always wanted a stove where I can control the BTUs with a dial. You could test your own stove for it and calibrate yourself for example.

There is a slightly more scientific blog here, but it won’t satisfy what you’re looking for I don’t think. I’ve never found that depth, but would appreciate it too! https://www.seriouseats.com/

I like this book too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Food_Lab