 First principle thinking, which is sometimes called reasoning from first principles, is one of the most effective strategies you can employ for breaking down complicated problems and generating original solutions. It also might be the single best approach to learn how to think for yourself. The first principle approach has been used by many great thinkers, including Venture Johann Gutenberg, military strategist John Boyd, and ancient philosopher Aristotle. But no one embodies a philosophy of first principle thinking more effectively than entrepreneur Elon Musk. Now let's dive into the basics. A first principle is a foundational proposition or assumption that stands alone. We cannot deduce first principles from any other proposition or assumption. As Aristotle writes, in every systemic inquiry methodos, where there are first principles, or causes, or elements, knowledge and science results from acquiring knowledge of these. For we think we know something just in case we acquire knowledge of the primary causes, the primary first principles all the way to the elements. Later, he connected the idea to knowledge, defining first principles as the first basis from which a thing is known. The search for first principle is not unique to philosophy. All great thinkers do it. Reasoning by first principles removes the impurities of assumptions and conventions. What remains is the essentials. It's one of the best mental models you can use to improve your thinking, because the essentials allow you to see where reasoning by analogy might lead you astray, so to summarize. First principles are atomic, universally true statements that don't need to be broken down any further. First principle thinking is used to understand complex ideas at a foundational level, identify blind spots at incorrect assumptions, and see connections and patterns between different ideas. In his book succeeding, John Reid writes, when you first study a field, it seems like you have to memorize a zillion things. You don't. What you need to identify is the core principles, generally three to twelve of them, that govern the field. The million things you thought you had to memorize are simply various combinations of the core principles. So let's go through some examples over here. Elon Musk applied the first principle thinking with SpaceX. When Musk was estimating the cost of building the first SpaceX rockets, he could have simply used comparable products on the markets as a benchmark. Making decisions using common knowledge is an antithesis of the first principle thinking. Instead, his team analyzed the necessary parts of a rocket, then researched the price of the raw materials of parts first hand. As a result, the SpaceX team was surprised to learn that they could build a rocket that costs around 2% of the typical price. As Albert Einstein states, if I had an hour to solve a problem, in my life dependent on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask. For once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes. So you might be thinking, what are the benefits of first principle thinking? 1. Problem solving process becomes fun. 2. You improve your knowledge with every problem you solve. 3. You learn what is important and what's not. 4. You experience immense joy while looking for a solution. So you probably ask yourself for now what are some techniques, so we're going to be diving into techniques for establishing first principles. There are many ways to establish first principles, but let's take a look at a few. Socrates' questioning method. So, Socrates' questioning can be used to establish first principles through stringent analysis. This is a disciplined questioning process. Use to establish truths, reveal underlining assumptions, and separate knowledge from ignorance. The key distinction between the Socratic questioning and normal discussion is that the former seeks to draw out the first principles in a systemic manner. The Socratic questioning generally follows this process. 1. Clarifying your thinking and explaining the origins of your idea. Why do I think this? What exactly do I think? 2. Challenging assumptions. How do I know this is true? What if I thought the opposite? 3. Looking for evidence. How can I back this up? What are the sources? 4. Considering alternative perspectives, what might others think? How do I know I'm correct? 5. Examining consequences and implications. What if I'm wrong? What are the consequences if I am? 6. Questioning the original questions. Why did I think that? Was I correct? What conclusions can I draw from the reasoning process? This process stops you from relying on your gut and limits strong emotional responses. This process helps you build something that lasts much longer. So, how do you employ first principles in your daily life? Most of us have no problem thinking about what we want to achieve in life, at least when we're young. We're full of big dreams, big ideas, and boundless energy. The problem is that we let others tell us what's possible, not only when it comes to our dreams, but also when it comes to how we go after them. And when we let other people tell us what's possible or what the best way of doing something is, we outsource our thinking to someone else. The real power of first principle thinking is moving away from incremental improvement and into possibility. Letting others think for us means we are using their analogies, their conventions, and their possibilities. It means we've inherited a world that conforms to what they think. This is incremental thinking. When we take what already exists and we improve on it, we are in the shadow of others. It's only when we step back, ask ourselves what's possible, and cut through the flawed analogies that we see what is possible. Analogies are beneficial. They make complex problems easier to communicate and increase understanding. Using them, however, is not without a cost. They limit our beliefs about what's possible and allow people to argue without ever exposing our faulty thinking. Analogies move us to see the problem the same way that someone else sees the problem. The gulf between what people currently see because their thinking is framed by someone else's and what is physically possible is filled by the people who use first principle to think through problems. First principle thinking clears a clutter of what we're told ourselves and allows us to rebuild from the ground up. Sure, it's a lot of hard work, but that's why so few people are willing to do it. It's also why the rewards for filling the chasm between possible and incremental improvement tend to be non-linear. Let's take a look at a few of the limiting beliefs that we tell ourselves. I can't do it. It's never been done before. People like Elon Musk are constantly doing things have never been done before. This type of thinking is analogous to looking back at history and building, say, flood walls based on the worst flood that happened before. A better bet is to look at what could happen and plan for it. So what is the conclusion here? First principle thinking does not remove the need for continuous improvement, but it does alter the direction of improvement. Without reasoning by first principles, you spend your time making small improvements to a bicycle rather than a snowmobile. First principle thinking sets you on a different trajectory. If you want to enhance an existing process or belief, continuous improvement is a great option. If you want to learn how to think for yourself, reasoning from first principle is one of the best ways to do it. I hope you enjoyed today's video on first principle thinking. If you enjoyed this video, leave a comment below this video, like and subscribe. I will see you soon. Thank you.