Then it needs to be made simple enough for the average player to be able to grasp it.
Same idea with finding the signals themselves- look at Vinesauce Joel, Criken, or Charborg as examples of the difficulty curve in the main gameplay loop; (I myself did not mess with the signals for about 5-10 hours at first playing because I didn't understand it, but now I can do it in my sleep.) eventually the player's interest in the surrounding game will lead them to learning about it so that they can engage with it sufficiently. The same will happen with any well-designed mini-game, the rules need to be explained sufficiently so that everyone can engage with it.
I'm not suggesting that MDN adds in some high-level minigame that requires 10 years of coding to understand, I'm suggesting that there be some kind of minigame with mechanics that can be easily grasped added. If Dr. Nose really wanted to spell things out for players, what they could do is add the commands to the side of the console with a sentence or two explaining what said command does. Hell, if need be, there could be written explanations in the "help & tips" pop-up on the pause menu in case people need even more guidance.
There are already ways people can learn about the currently existing tasks in the game.
Also my suggestion would not be a requirement for progression - as I said before, "this could be something that the player could totally ignore."