First Principles Thinking
Breaking down a problem into its most fundamental truths and reasoning up from there — rather than reasoning by analogy or convention.
The Idea
Instead of accepting existing solutions as given, strip away assumptions until you reach the irreducible facts. Then rebuild your understanding from the ground up.
Examples
- Elon Musk on rocket costs: instead of accepting the price of rockets, he calculated the raw material cost and realized rockets could be built for ~2% of the market price
- Aristotle: “the first basis from which a thing is known”
- Physics: deriving complex phenomena from fundamental laws rather than memorizing formulas
How to Apply
- Identify the problem or belief
- Ask “What do I know to be absolutely true about this?”
- Challenge every assumption — especially the invisible ones
- Reconstruct from base truths
Key Questions
- “What are we absolutely sure is true?”
- “What assumptions am I making that I haven’t examined?”
- “If I started from scratch today, would I do it this way?”