First Principles; How to Think for Yourself
"The best solution is not where everyone is already looking."
Visual Credit: @drex_jpg
First-principle thinking is one of the most effective ways to understand complex problems and generate creative solutions.
It is sometimes called “reasoning from first principles,” the idea is to deconstruct complex problems to its most basic form and then reassemble them from the ground up. This might be one of the best ways to think for yourself, unlock your creative potential, and drive non-linear solutions.
The most successful entrepreneurs, professionals, inventors, and scientists have made reference to this approach as being critical to their success. It has helped them cut through the fog of vague reasoning and analogies to see opportunities others miss.
With a simple Google search you will find out that there are a lot of articles, videos, and quotes that all point to the importance of first principles.
In this post, I’ll provide a simple and intuitive break down of First Principles thinking: what it is, how it works and how to use is in your problem solving journey.
The Basics
Aristotle –the ancient Greek philosopher –defined first principles as “the first basis from which a thing is known”.
A first principle is the basic, foundational stand-alone assumption that cannot be deduced any further. In simple terms, first principles are foundational truths.
Reasoning by first principles removes all inadequate analogies and assumption. What remains is the essentials and base layer. The aim of this approach is for you to deconstruct problems to its foundational element and build up from there.
When we encounter new problems, we tend to rely on prior experience and the assumptions we have been told . This is called “reasoning by analogy” –a way to understand something new by using something already known. It is useful when speed is the priority. Here you draw conclusions by comparing two things. This method falls short when you are dealing with problems that require creative and imaginative solutions.
Elon Musk & Space X
Just like a lot of great innovators, Elon Musk embodies the first principle thinking. Let’s look at the first principle in action.
In 2002, Elon Musk started SpaceX with the vision to make life interplanetary for humans. To do this you will need space rockets. Rockets are expensive. How can one get cheap and reliable rockets to send people to space? This counts as a complex problem.
While in search of a solution, he visited a number of aerospace companies around the world. That’s when he found out that the cost of a rocket was around $65million at the time. He began to rethink the problem.
Elon musk turned to first principles:
“I tend to approach things from a physics framework. Physics teaches you to reason from first principles rather than by analogy. So I said, okay, let’s look at the first principles. What is a rocket made of? Aerospace-grade aluminum alloys, plus some titanium, copper, and carbon fiber. Then I asked, what is the value of those materials on the commodity market? It turned out that the materials cost of a rocket was around two percent of the typical price.”
He decided to purchase the raw materials and build his own rocket from scratch. Of course , this was very difficult to do and took a lot of iterations to achieve but it was all worth it at the end. Rather than accepting the “truth” about the cost of rockets. Elon musk decided to ground his problem solving on the first principles by breaking the situation down to the fundamentals.
Within few years SpaceX started launching rockets to mars after cutting cost about 10x while still making profit. This ushered in a new era in the space economy.
Ways of Establishing First Principles:
Now we know what first principle is. How can we use it in our problem solving journey and in our everyday lives?
The most important thing is to determine if first principle is the best fit for the problem or reasoning by analogy.
For speed/efficiency—reasoning by analogy
For creativity/innovation—first principles thinking
If first principle is the right approach for you, start by asking questions that drill down to the core of the problem.
This method is called “Socratic questioning” –a questioning process used to establish truth and reveal underlying assumptions. It generally follows this process:
What is the problem I am trying to solve? Identify the “right” problem
Why do I think this? Understand the origin of your ideas
How do I know this is true? Be ruthless in evaluating the integrity of your ideas
How can I support these beliefs? Look for tangible evidence and sources
What alternative beliefs or viewpoints might exist? There are always alternative perspectives. Seek them out.
What if I am wrong? What are the consequences if I am? Understand the stakes. Examine implications.
This process stops you from relying on your emotional responses and helps your drill down to the core of the problem. After which, you can begin to slowly build a more creative solution from there.
Another simple and powerful method of getting to the core of a problem is “the five whys”. This involves asking the question why five times. Each answer forms the basis of the next question. Children do this instinctively. They are the original users of first principles.
An example of a problem, as shown in Wikipedia, is: The vehicle will not start.
Why? – The battery is dead. (First why)
Why? – The alternator is not functioning. (Second why)
Why? – The alternator belt has broken. (Third why)
Why? – The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and not replaced. (Fourth why)
Why? – The vehicle was not maintained according to the recommended service schedule. (Fifth why, a root cause)
Conclusion
We are largely limited by our strong tendency for imitation. We are imprisoned by the thoughts of others. First principle thinking gives us the tools to cut through these assumptions and generate solutions to complex problems.
Reasoning by first principles is useful when you are
Doing something for the first time.
Dealing with complexity
Trying to understand a situation that you’re having problems with.
Learning to think for yourself
We must be able to take something apart, test the assumptions and reconstruct it. This is how we can see the world for what it truly is and what is possible.