First Principles Thinking

Welcome to the 600 new members of the curiosity tribe who have joined us since Friday. Join the 66,096 others who are receiving high-signal, curiosity-inducing content every single week.Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Revelo!If you’re a growing technology company, chances are you’re struggling to find talented developers right now.Revelo helps companies like GitHub, Intuit, and Carta hire faster, so they can grow faster! It’s a talent platform that matches you with vetted remote developers in Latin America who work in US time zones. It offers a full-suite platform that covers payroll, benefits, compliance, and more, allowing you to hire full-time remote developers without the headaches.Get matched with vetted candidates within 3 days—guaranteed. They even offer a 100% risk-free 14-day trial. If you’re not satisfied, you pay nothing.SPECIAL OFFER: Revelo is offering Curiosity Chronicle subscribers 20% off the first 3 months of any hire! Use the link below to take advantage of this crazy deal!Today at a Glance:First principles thinking is the most powerful framework for deconstructing complex problems, generating creative solutions, and driving non-linear outcomes.A first principle is a basic, foundational assumption—one that cannot be deduced or broken down any further. In simple terms, think of first principles as foundational truths that do not require any additional assumptions.As a simple rule of thumb: when speed and efficiency are critical, use reasoning by analogy; when creativity and innovation are required, use first principles thinking.To leverage first principles thinking, use Socratic Questioning to drill down to the foundational truths of a problem. Once you uncover them, you can begin to slowly build up to a more creative, imaginative solution.First Principles ThinkingThe most successful entrepreneurs, investors, and scientists in the world often reference first principles thinking as having been critical to their success.Run a simple Google search of the term and you’ll find countless articles, videos, and quotes from an array of billionaires and Nobel Prize winners who all point to the importance of first principles thinking.Accordingly, first principles thinking has become something of a buzz-phrase—often talked about, yet rarely understood (let alone employed effectively).In this post, I’d like to provide a simple, intuitive breakdown of first principles thinking: what it is, how it works, when to use it, and how to leverage it in your problem solving journey.Introduction to First PrinciplesFirst principles thinking is the most powerful framework for deconstructing complex problems, generating creative solutions, and driving non-linear outcomes.Let’s start with the basics: what is a first principle?Aristotle—the Ancient Greek philosopher, polymath, and student of Plato—defined a first principle as "the first basis from which a thing is known."A first principle is a basic, foundational assumption—one that cannot be deduced or broken down any further. In simple terms, think of first principles as foundational truths that do not require any additional assumptions.They are the base layer—the atomic unit.First principles thinking—sometimes referred to as "reasoning from first principles”—is a problem-solving and innovation framework that requires you to deconstruct a complex problem down to these most foundational elements.The aim: to ground yourself in the foundational truths and build up from there.Elon Musk explained this in a 2013 interview:“First principles is kind of a physics way of looking at the world. You boil things down to the most fundamental truths and say, ‘What are we sure is true?’ … and then reason up from there.”This method runs in contrast to our natural wiring.When we encounter challenging problems, our tendency is to rely on base level assumptions we have been told are true (or we believe to be true). Why? It’s quick and easy to do.This is called "reasoning by analogy”—it leads to solutions that are much like something else. Slight modifications or iterations on an existing solution. The unimaginative, linear solutions that closely resemble what has been done before.To be sure, it can be very useful when speed is the priority. Moving fast has its advantages at times—like if our ancestors were trying to avoid being eaten by a lion! But reasoning by analogy falls short when dealing with complex problems requiring creative, imaginative solutions.Imagine the solution to a problem as a house:The foundation of the house is the assumptions upon which the ultimate solution will rest.If it's a shoddy, quickly-built foundation, the house may collapse. Even if it remains standing, the architect and builder will know that they are limited in what they can build on top of it.If it's a sturdy, deliberately-built foundation, the house will thrive. The architect and builder can get creative with what they build on top of it, as they know the base is strong.First principles form ...