How to cultivate first principles thinking in children?

想让孩子学会“第一性原理”这个听起来很牛的思维方式，其实没那么玄乎。说白了，就是教他“扒开洋葱，一层一层看到最里面的核”，而不是只停留在“哦，这是个洋葱”的表面。别把它当成一个课程，把它变成一种生活习惯。

我分享几个自己觉得特别好用的方法，你可以试试：

1. 玩“打破砂锅问到底”的游戏

孩子是天生的“为什么”机器，千万别嫌烦，这是最好的机会。

• 别急着给答案： 当他问“为什么天是蓝色的？”的时候，别直接说“因为瑞利散射”。你可以反问他：“好问题！你觉得天是什么组成的呢？（空气、云…）那光又是什么样的呢？（亮的、有颜色的…）我们猜猜看，是不是光在空气里跑的时候发生了什么变化？”
• 鼓励他自己猜： 让他大胆地猜，猜错了也没关系。重点是引导他去思考“组成这件事物最基本的东西是什么”。比如，“我们为什么要吃饭？”“因为会饿。”“为什么会饿？”“因为身体需要能量。”“能量从哪来？”“从饭里。”“饭里的什么东西变成了能量？”……你看，一层层就问到本质了。

2. 拆！拆！拆！—— 物理版的“庖丁解牛”

找一些安全的、废旧的东西，比如一个旧闹钟、一支用完的圆珠笔、一个坏了的玩具车。和他一起拆开，看看里面到底是什么。

• 认零件： “你看，这个是弹簧，你按一下，它会弹回来。”“这个是齿轮，一个转，能带着另一个也转起来。”
• 想功能： “如果我们把这个小弹簧拿掉，你猜这支笔会怎么样？（按不出笔芯了）”“原来它的作用是把笔芯顶回去啊！”
• 通过拆解，孩子会明白，一个看起来复杂的东西，其实是由一堆有各自简单功能的小零件组成的。这就是把复杂问题拆解成基本要素。

3. “假如……会怎么样？”——挑战默认规则

这个游戏能帮孩子打破思维定势。

• “假如我们没有发明椅子，大家会怎么休息？”（他可能会想到坐地上、躺着、靠着墙……）
• “假如一天不是24小时，而是30个小时，会发生什么？”（白天会更长？我们会不会更累？）
• “假如书不是用纸做的，还能用什么做？”（木头片？布？石头？）

这种问题没有标准答案，但能促使他去思考一个东西存在的根本目的。比如，椅子的本质是为了“支撑身体，让人舒服地坐着”，只要能实现这个目的，它不一定是四条腿一个背。

4. 从零开始创造，而不是模仿

玩积木的时候，别总让他照着图纸搭。

• 定个目标： “我们来搭一个‘能跑得最快的车’吧！”
• 分析要素： “要跑得快，车子需要什么？（轮子要顺滑、车身要轻、形状要尖一点减少阻力……）”
• 动手验证： 让他自己去试，用两个轮子还是四个轮子？车身用大块积木还是小块？搭一个胖的，再搭一个瘦的，看看哪个在斜坡上滑得远。

这个过程，他就在亲身实践第一性原理：为了实现“快”这个目标，从最基本的要素（轮子、车身、重量、形状）出发，自己组合、创造出一个解决方案。

总结一下我的心得：

培养这种思维，家长的角色不是“老师”，而是“好奇的伙伴”。你不用什么都懂，你可以说：“我也不知道耶，我们一起查查看/试试看好不好？”

关键在于，保护他的好奇心，鼓励他提问，陪伴他探索，允许他犯错。别用“大家都这样”、“本来就是这样”来搪塞他。当他习惯于从根上思考问题时，这种思维方式就自然而然地内化了。

To teach children "first principles thinking," which sounds like a sophisticated way of thinking, it's actually not that mysterious. Simply put, it's about teaching them to "peel back the layers of an onion to get to its core," rather than just observing "Oh, it's an onion" on the surface. Don't treat it as a course; make it a life habit.

Here are a few methods I've found particularly effective that you can try:

1. Play the "Ask Why Until You Can't Anymore" Game

Children are natural "why" machines. Don't get annoyed; this is the best opportunity.

• Don't rush to give answers: When they ask, "Why is the sky blue?" don't immediately say, "Because of Rayleigh scattering." Instead, you can ask them back: "Good question! What do you think the sky is made of? (Air, clouds...) And what is light like? (Bright, colorful...) Let's guess, do you think something happens when light travels through the air?"
• Encourage them to guess: Let them guess boldly; it's okay to be wrong. The key is to guide them to think about "what are the most fundamental components of this thing." For example, "Why do we eat?" "Because we get hungry." "Why do we get hungry?" "Because our body needs energy." "Where does energy come from?" "From food." "What in the food turns into energy?"... You see, layer by layer, you get to the essence.

2. Disassemble! Disassemble! Disassemble! - The Physical Art of Deconstruction

Find some safe, discarded items, such as an old alarm clock, a used ballpoint pen, or a broken toy car. Take them apart together and see what's inside.

• Identify the parts: "Look, this is a spring. If you press it, it bounces back." "This is a gear. When one turns, it makes another one turn too."
• Think about the function: "If we remove this small spring, what do you think will happen to this pen? (Can't push out the refill anymore) Ah, so its function is to push the refill back!"
• Through disassembly, children will understand that a seemingly complex thing is actually composed of many small parts, each with its own simple function. This is how complex problems are broken down into basic elements.

3. "What if...?" - Challenging Default Rules

This game can help children break fixed mindsets.

• "What if we hadn't invented chairs, how would people rest?" (They might think of sitting on the ground, lying down, leaning against a wall...)
• "What if a day wasn't 24 hours but 30 hours, what would happen?" (Would the daytime be longer? Would we be more tired?)
• "What if books weren't made of paper, what else could they be made of?" (Wooden tablets? Cloth? Stone?)

There are no standard answers to these questions, but they prompt children to think about the fundamental purpose of something's existence. For example, the essence of a chair is to "support the body and allow people to sit comfortably." As long as this purpose is achieved, it doesn't necessarily have to have four legs and a back.

4. Create from Scratch, Not Just Imitate

When playing with building blocks, don't always make them follow the instructions.

• Set a goal: "Let's build the 'fastest car'!"
• Analyze the elements: "To run fast, what does a car need? (Smooth wheels, a light body, a pointed shape to reduce drag...)"
• Hands-on verification: Let them try for themselves: two wheels or four? Large blocks or small for the body? Build a fat one, then a thin one, and see which slides further down a ramp.

In this process, they are personally practicing first principles: to achieve the goal of "speed," they start from the most basic elements (wheels, body, weight, shape) and combine and create a solution themselves.

To summarize my experience:

When cultivating this way of thinking, the parent's role is not a "teacher" but a "curious companion." You don't have to know everything; you can say, "I don't know either, how about we look it up/try it together?"

The key is to protect their curiosity, encourage them to ask questions, accompany them in exploration, and allow them to make mistakes. Don't fob them off with "that's just how everyone does it" or "that's just how it is." When they get used to thinking about problems from their roots, this way of thinking will naturally become internalized.