Problem Solving

First Principles Thinking

Break down complex problems into first principles and create innovative solutions.
Useful when
  • You are trying to understand a complex concept or problem
  • You want to develop creative solutions to difficult problems
  • You want to challenge assumptions or preconceived notions
  • You want to build a solid and robust understanding of a concept
  • You want to think more clearly and logically about a problem or idea
About

First principles thinking is a method of problem-solving that involves breaking down a problem or idea into its fundamental principles or assumptions, and then using those principles to solve the problem or understand the idea. This approach is often used in philosophy and physics, but it can be applied to any field or discipline.

The key benefit of first principles thinking is that it allows you to arrive at solutions or conclusions that are based on fundamental truths, rather than on preconceived notions or assumptions. By breaking down a problem or idea into its most basic components, you can more easily identify and analyze the key factors that are driving the problem, and then use that information to develop a solution that is grounded in reality.

Examples
Examples

Elon Musk has built three revolutionary multibillion dollar companies. What makes it even more incredible is that they are in entirely different fields — Paypal (Financial Services), Tesla Motors (Automotive), and SpaceX (Aerospace).

When asked about how he managed to do this, he said the following: “I do think there is a good framework for thinking. It is physics – you know the sort of first principles reasoning … What I mean by that is boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there as opposed to reasoning by analogy. Though most of our life we get through it by reasoning through analogy, which essentially means copying what other people do with slight variations. And you have to do that, otherwise mentally you wouldn’t be able to get through the day. But when you want to do something new you have to apply the physics approach. Physics has really figured out how to discover new things that are counter-intuitive, like quantum mechanics … so I think that’s an important thing to do. This may sound like simple advice but hardly anyone does that and it’s incredibly helpful.”

Just like Musk, some of the most brilliant minds of all time — Aristotle, Euclid, Thomas Edison, Feynman, and Nikola Tesla — use this model to accelerate learning, solve difficult problems, and create outstanding work.

This framework has
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Useful when
  • You are trying to understand a complex concept or problem
  • You want to develop creative solutions to difficult problems
  • You want to challenge assumptions or preconceived notions
  • You want to build a solid and robust understanding of a concept
  • You want to think more clearly and logically about a problem or idea