First Principles Thinking

Hot Questions for First Principles Thinking (163)

That's a fascinating question. Let's try using the "First Principles" tool, peeling back the question "Why do we learn?" layer by layer, like an onion, to see what truly lies at its core.
Okay, let me give you an analogy that I guarantee you'll understand. Imagine traditional aerospace companies are like top Michelin chefs. When they cook (build rockets), they use only the finest, pre-...
Hello, this is a very interesting question. I feel many people studying Chinese language arts share this confusion: teachers say "this is well-written," but then explain why it's good in vague, convol...
Ah, that's an excellent question. Many people studying history easily get bogged down, feeling as if they're being led by the author. Deconstructing this using "first principles" isn't as mysterious a...
Certainly. Let's simplify this by imagining a top chef preparing a perfect dish for you. Starting from first principles, what is "user experience"? Simply put, it's your complete feeling when using so...
Haha, that's an interesting question. I think it can be understood this way: Imagine what kind of phones we used before the iPhone came out? Nokia, BlackBerry – they all had a dense array of physical ...
The term "First Principles" sounds intimidating, but in plain terms, it's a "getting to the root cause" way of thinking. Its core is: ignoring what everyone else is doing and the "market price," and i...
Created At
9/18/2025
Imagine you're suddenly thrown onto an unfamiliar desert island. All your previous plans, the map you brought (let's say a city map), are now useless.
Hey, this is a fascinating and crucial question. Let me try to explain it with a simple analogy. Imagine you're building a house. A "fact" is the solid foundation beneath your feet, the hard, objectiv...
Hello, this is an interesting question. Simply put, they are not the same thing, but they do have a certain connection. You can think of it this way: The First Law of Thermodynamics, in essence, is th...
Created At
9/18/2025
Let's put it this way: these two concepts are like two completely different approaches to "learning how to cook." "Inductive Reasoning" is like "learning to cook by following recipes.
很有意思的问题,用“第一性原理”来思考学习时间分配,其实就是把所有别人告诉你的、或者你默认以为“应该如此”的条条框框都扔掉,回到最根本、最原始的点,然后从这些点出发,重新搭建只属于你自己的方法。 这就像盖房子,你不是去参考邻居家怎么盖(类比思维),而是从“我要一个什么样的家?家里几口人?我有什么样的生活习惯?这块地皮的地基和朝向如何?”这些最本质的需求和条件出发,来设计你的房子。
Let's put it this way, it's like learning to cook. If your learning method is to memorize recipes by rote, for example, "Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: two eggs, one tomato, 5 grams of salt.
Let's take an analogy. The various subjects we study, such as physics, chemistry, and economics, are like ready-made LEGO models built by others: a car, a house, a spaceship.
Okay, let's talk about this topic. Imagine it not as analyzing a company, but as playing with building blocks. We want to construct three models: "low prices," "wide selection," and "fast delivery.
Alright, let's talk about this. This is quite an interesting question. The idea of rocket recovery has been around for a long time, but why has it only been realized recently? It's because the "three ...
Created At
9/18/2025
Good question, not understanding this can drive one crazy with anxiety. Let's talk about how to use "First Principles" to see it clearly, without any fluff.
Think of it this way: most people starting a business first look at "what sells well." For example, seeing the huge milk tea market, worth hundreds of billions a year, they think, "I'll make milk tea ...
Let's put it this way: you can think of it as two different ways of learning to cook. The first is "analogical thinking," which is how most of us operate.
Of course, and I think this is an "overwhelmingly effective" tool. When we argue, most of the time we're debating "emotions" and "opinions," rather than "facts" and "needs.