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Highlights
- Elon Musk has asserted that rather than reasoning by analogy, one should decode the fundamental truths of the problem.
- The primary purpose of first principles thinking is to induce a unique worldview so that innovative solutions come out instead of inspired ones.
- Through first principles thinking, people can come out of the box and make impactful contributions to society.
How do we think of solutions? Of course, we see a problem, think of possible outcomes, select a preferable outcome, and move towards it. But is this really how one should seek out solutions?
There is a difference between “solving a problem” and “thinking about a problem.” The majority of people immediately think of ways to solve an issue rather than spending time at first understanding the “core elements” of the problem.
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First principles reasoning
Elon Musk once insisted that the problem lies within the way people perceive it. He asserted that rather than reasoning by analogy, one should decode the fundamental truths of that respective issue.
When a person reasons by analogy rather than thinking of the fundamentals, they basically try solving the problem in a way that everyone would do but with a slight variation. On the other hand, if a person tries to analyse the fundamentals, they can reach the root cause.
Under the first principle of thinking, one questions the set assumptions and reaches the state of zero-knowledge and from there, they can build new knowledge and find solutions from scratch.
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Significance of first principles thinking
The primary purpose of first principles thinking is to induce a unique worldview so that innovative solutions come out instead of inspired ones. This way, one can avoid herd mentality.
Innovative thinking leads to creativity and success. If difficult problems are solved by breaking down the fundamentals of the problem, one produces great timeless work. The basic difference is about “how a person thinks?”-how well do they understand the contextual layers of the problem?
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How to build first principles reasoning?
- Identify and establish your assumptions: Whenever a new problem pops up, it exemplifies certain assumptions. So, the first step of building first principles reasoning is defining the assumptions surrounding that problem.
- Now list the fundamentals of the problem: Listing down the fundamentals primarily means analysing the bits and pieces of the issue. What are the integrities? - those integrities would be the core truth of the issue. Analysing the fundamentals is crucial before moving towards finding the solution.
- Solutions from scratch: Once you have established the assumptions and questioned the fundamentals, you now can see the issue without any lens. There’s a problem in front of you, and you understand it to the core. Now one can think of insightful solutions that are not inspired rather innovative.
Bottomline
Why do not many people become successful in life? Why do most people end up doing 9 to 5 jobs for their lifetime? It’s because of the way they think and solve whatever problems come in their way. People who think differently dodge the crowd and become a significant entity in society. Thus, through first principles thinking, people can come out of the box and make impactful contributions to society.
