First Principles:
The Power of Thinking & Reasoning Simply
1. Introduction
2. Understanding First Principles Thinking / Reasoning
3. Analogy Vs First Principles
4. How to Utilize First Principles Thinking
5. Identifying & Overcoming Cognitive Biases
6. Let’s Solve a Problem / Create a Solution
#1: Introduction
“Think for yourself, question authority.” - Terrence McKenna
I promise to be different.
I promise to be unique.
I promise not to repeat things other people say..
-Steve Martin
“It’s always been done this way,” may be counted among the most constraining ways to think and live; while it can provide comfort to many, it can also be unhelpful when you’re trying to solve a new problem, or even solve an old problem in a new way. To break this pattern and create new solutions with greater efficiency, use First Principles Thinking.
Plato’s Cave can be a comfortable place to stay, though it’s well worth venturing out of.
#2: Understanding First Principles Thinking / Reasoning
A first principle is a fundamental truth, belief, or understanding about reality that cannot be understood anymore deeply or by using other means. It is an observed/understood FACT that stands alone as a building block for more complex processes.
First Principles Thinking / Reasoning is a method of problem solving that utilizes the fundamental building blocks (first principles) of any system to answer specific questions and solve problems in new innovative ways.
The concept was born from ideas in Aristotle’s Metaphysics, and focuses on understanding a thing or problem by observing the most basic parts and how they interact with each other and variables of interest. Aristotle names the four first causes/principles as “final, formal, material, and efficient.”
Final: The purpose for a thing; why are you solving this problem?
Formal: The shape of the final solution, a design of what you want to create.
Material: The thing(s) that your solution is made of.
Efficient: The source of change/transformation from input to output
For example, if you were attempting to solve the problem of constructing a statue, you might first ask yourself WHY you want to build the statue. (FINAL)
* You may OFTEN find you don’t have a good reason to do something; recognizing that you’ve come up with a “problem” that doesn’t actually need to be solved can save you a lot of time and energy. Simply abandon the line of inquiry and move on to a real problem. *
Next you might ask WHAT your statue (any outcome or goal you have) will look like once completed. Your purpose will guide your vision and help you see into the future to understand what your final goal might look like. (FORM)
After understanding why, and deciding on what the final form/solution might look like, it’s a good idea to consider HOW you’re going to reach your goal. What are the things you will need to create your solution? (MATERIAL)
Finally, with a purpose(final), a vision/design(formal), the appropriate things/stuff(material), the last ingredient to add is transformation/change; this is where you convert your ideas, intentions, and materials into something new that solves a specific problem. (EFFICIENT)
#3: Analogy VS First Principles
People typically think/reason by using analogies and metaphors. It’s why storytelling is so powerful and can be quite compelling. Using analogies simply means using one idea/concept to explain another. “Life is like a box of chocolates”…you get it.
Analogy is a simple way to understand complex concepts by using something we are already familiar with. Observed similarities between things are used to infer some further similarity that hasn’t yet been confirmed. We can use prior experiences to theorize(often successfully) about things that are unknown. “Monkey see, monkey do..”
Unfortunately, if we only copy what we see, we can sometimes overlook(or fail to even consider) more efficient innovations that can be discovered when we use First Principles to reason through problems and find unique solutions.
#4: How to Utilize First Principles Thinking
This method of reasoning comes down to just a few basic parts. The most important:
Break down the problem into the smallest possible units. (Divide & Conquer)
You can use questions to dig deeper into your ideas and find the most important factors to consider in the quest to solve a specific problem. There are two main techniques available to assist you: Socratic Questioning & The Cartesian Method of Doubt.
The basic idea is to approach both the problem and potential solution with a healthy level of skepticism and critical thinking in the form of asking questions about your questions until you dive so deep into the matter that you cannot possibly conceive of any other ways to perceive the problem/solution.
In order to effectively use First Principles Thinking, one of the key steps is to identify any current assumptions you may have; if you don’t know something to be absolutely true, but you operate as though it is, you may be preventing yourself from seeing important variables. Always ask: “How do I know this to be true?”
It can also be helpful to attempt to explain the problem/solution in a way simple enough for even a young child to understand (The Feynman Technique). It has been said that if you cannot explain a thing simply, then you do not truly understand how it works.
#5: Identifying & Overcoming Cognitive Biases
Cognitive Biases affect every human alive, and even potentially our AI programs that were of course, designed by humans. Cognitive Biases can simply be described as incorrect or inefficient patterns of thought. They can arise from our tendency to try and understand the world through analogy instead of first principles. Many biases exist as remnants of ancient survival instincts, and most of our biases are simply the result of how brains operate.
It is completely normal to have cognitive biases, but it’s not at all helpful to ignore them or allow them to influence your thinking on every aspect of the world. Phenomena like confirmation bias, when left unchecked, can lead to magical thinking, unrealistic expectations, and a view of the world that doesn’t quite match reality.
Sometimes we can get away with, or even benefit from being biased, other times we suffer for our ignorance. We have both conscious and unconscious biases. Both can create positive and negative results. Our biases result from an attempt by the brain to save energy and make decisions as fast as possible(mental timesavers called Heuristics); past experiences become strong references for what to do and how to think.
While our biases are normal, and some biases are easier to identify and control than others, it is up to us to individually decide to cast our biases aside when appropriate for solving important problems. Our negative biases can stand in the way of breakthroughs if we are unaware of them.
A few examples:
Confirmation Bias: When we already believe something, we are more attracted to information that confirms what we believe, and we avoid or are upset by contradictory information. If we make honest self-assessments we can recognize how common this thinking pattern is.
Hindsight Bias: “I KNEW it!” - If you’ve caught yourself saying this AFTER learning something is true, claiming that you just knew it before you actually had received the confirming information, you’ve been guilty (as we all are) of thinking that a past event was more predictable than it actually was. If we aren’t careful we can become overconfident in our ability to make future predictions.
Self-Serving Bias: We have all been guilty at one time or another of claiming responsibility for a success that we had little to do with, and similarly we have all blamed at least some of our negative experiences on external variables such as other people or particular circumstances.
Click the chart below to explore an amazing website with hundred of biases listed for you to study:
#6: Let’s Solve a Problem / Create a Solution
Putting it all into action: Good talk.
Thing is, no matter how much you practice First Principles Thinking and being mindful of your biases, we all slip, forget, and fall into old or unhelpful patterns from time to time. The key is moving past, learning from, and continuing to improve as much as we all can. On that note, if you have a real problem you’re trying to solve, and you’re looking for guidance or assistance, I’d love to offer you a 1 on 1 consultation to see if we might benefit from working together; please click here and feel free to ask me anything.
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This article was written the “old fashioned way” (with fingers, a brain, and a keyboard), but AI writing assistants were used to brainstorm and elaborate upon ideas.
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