First Principles

When I read Walter Isaacson’s book on Elon Musk - one thing that struck me is how often Elon mentions using First Principles. Another time I’ve seen First Principles mentioned: my father.

Every time I had a problem and ask my father for help - he would always say:

Did you go back to first principles?

This changed my life - especially in my second semester of university - where I had an average first semester. I went back to first principles - and learned those for all the classes.

That’s when I excelled in everything that semester.

First Principles - those are the foundational truths of a subject. They are the building blocks of the subject.

It’s easy to confuse first principles with “rules” - and it’s easy to confuse the two when you’re solving for a specific problem - like getting a good grade.

From my experience, First Principles thinking is really about knowledge - taking the foundational truths and applying them to your situation - regardless of the problem. Build the situation you have from the point of view of First Principles.

This view will always reveal something to you that you missed before.

As I read through a book on Elon Musk, I felt more connected to my father through their use of First Principles.

Thank you Elon, Walter, and father for reminding me the importance of First Principles.