One of the most effective strategies you can employ for breaking down complicated problems and generating original solutions.
The idea comes from Aristotle, who said a “first principle” is a basic assumption that cannot be deduced from anything else.
- Break the situation down to the bottom, where only the pure facts exist
- Aka. think like a scientist, as scientists don’t assume
- The opposite way of thinking is Analog, which is based on comparison, the best you can do is incremental change. However, first principle thinking is based on fundamental truths, which often lead to breakthrough ideas.
- In real life, even we don’t head to the atomic level, just boil down one or two levels than most people, we will already find brighter solutions, at least original ones, instead of copying others.
- The best solution is not where everyone is already looking.
- Optimize the function. Ignore the form.
See how to use first principle thinking to boil down Roadmap - Software design and architecture learning https://khalilstemmler.com/articles/software-design-architecture/full-stack-software-design/
References: https://jamesclear.com/first-principles From James Clear, author of Atomic Habits