You'll first have to become 'fluent' in EE, but for a physicist, it's just spending the time and getting used to things. Not terrible, long, but straightforward.
As towards what the article is talking about, you need to be trained in it. Honestly, you have to apprentice with the Greybeards (they are mostly men, but not always). There are other ways, like reading through Intel docs or the manuals for ICs or digging through forum posts from 2003. But those guys in the basement with funny newspaper clippings from the 80s or old xkcd printouts are a much better return on your time. They have tons of knowledge about specific chips and machines, stuff that is nearly impossible to recite unless prompted. You just got to spend long lunches blabbering with them, despite their strange political and societal views. Just listen to them, then write down every little thing they said. They are gold in terms of hardware.
Print: The Art of Electronics https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-Paul-Horowitz/dp/0521...
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-Paul-Horowitz/dp/0521...
Amazon even shows that I purchased this version, https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-Paul-Horowitz/dp/0521... for this price, but mine was sloppy copy.
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Journey-Amplifiers-R...
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-Paul-Horowitz/dp/0521...
https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Art-Electronics-Hands-Course...
https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Fourt...
"Lessons in Electric Circuits" by Tony R. Kuphaldt is a pretty good introduction to the basics, you can find an improved version online: http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/
The most popular book is probably "The Art of Electronics", it's pricey but well worth it if you're serious: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Electronics-Paul-Horowitz/dp/0521...
Check the usual suspects for communities, e.g. Reddit (/r/electronics, /r/AskElectronics) and StackExchange.
