First principles thinking
I was reading this article, Mental Models In Product Design by Teresa Man and she wrote this about first principles thinking:
One way to avoid functional fixedness is to abstract a problem and think in First Principles. Reasoning in First Principles means to break down complex scenarios into basic, foundational truths and build a solution from the ground up. Aristotle originated the idea over 2,000 years ago and defined it as "the first basis from which a thing is known."
Mental models in product design
I also remember Reed Hastings, Netflix’s CEO, mentioning this on Reid Hoffman’s podcast, Masters of Scale
HOFFMAN: A bit of background on first-principle thinking—you’ll hear this expression a lot in Silicon Valley. First-principle thinking is the idea that everything you do is underpinned by foundational beliefs—or "first principles." Instead of blindly following directions, or sticking to a process, a first-principle thinker will constantly ask, "What’s best for the company? And couldn’t we do it this other way instead?" And these are the kinds of inquisitive minds that Reed Hastings wanted to unleash on Netflix, for virtually every decision.
Farnam Street has a post on this as well with a clever analogy by Tim Urban:
Another way to think about this distinction comes from another friend, Tim Urban. He says it’s like the difference between the cook and the chef. While these terms are often used interchangeably, there is an important nuance. The chef is a trailblazer, the person who invents recipes. He knows the raw ingredients and how to combine them. The cook, who reasons by analogy, uses a recipe. He creates something, perhaps with slight variations, that’s already been created.
The difference between reasoning by first principles and reasoning by analogy is like the difference between being a chef and being a cook. If the cook lost the recipe, he’d be screwed. The chef, on the other hand, understands the flavor profiles and combinations at such a fundamental level that he doesn’t even use a recipe. He has real knowledge as opposed to know-how.
This blog post by James Clear is also helps to grasp the concept from a product design perspective:
For instance, when criticizing technological progress some people ask, "Where are the flying cars?"
Here’s the thing: We have flying cars. They’re called airplanes. People who ask this question are so focused on form (a flying object that looks like a car) that they overlook the function (transportation by flight). This is what Elon Musk is referring to when he says that people often "live life by analogy."
Be wary of the ideas you inherit. Old conventions and previous forms are often accepted without question and, once accepted, they set a boundary around creativity.
This difference is one of the key distinctions between continuous improvement and first principles thinking. Continuous improvement tends to occur within the boundary set by the original vision. By comparison, first principles thinking requires you to abandon your allegiance to previous forms and put the function front and center. What are you trying to accomplish? What is the functional outcome you are looking to achieve?
Optimize the function. Ignore the form. This is how you learn to think for yourself.
