The Ultimate Guide To First Principles Thinking

First-principles thinking, or thinking from first principles, sounds a lot more complicated than it is. It’s simply a technique for approaching problems with a beginner’s mind. Instead of working within assumptions and what people around you “know” to be true, you do the hard work of figuring out what’s actually true and, thus, what’s truly possibl... See more

First principles is a problem-solving technique where you break down complex problems into their most basic and fundamental parts. Instead of building on existing assumptions and knowledge, you start from the ground up, questioning everything and identifying the core components that cannot be reduced any further. By understanding these basic elemen... See more

A first principle is a basic assumption that cannot be deduced any further. Over two thousand years ago, Aristotle defined a first principle as “the first basis from which a thing is known.”

First principles thinking is a fancy way of saying “think like a scientist.” Scientists don’t assume anything. They start with questions like, What are we absol... See more