‘Go back to first principles’ is an often-heard expression. At least as often, those uttering it have no real idea of the meaning, beyond ‘think again’.
Twenty-six hundred years ago, Greek philosopher Aristotle defined it as: ‘The first basis from which a thing is known’
Application of ‘first principles thinking’ requires you to dig and dig into a situation until you are left with only a few foundational facts that cannot be disproved. You can then rebuild from the ground up.
Elon Musk is often cited as the current guru of this discipline, particularly as it related to the creation of what became SpaceX. Rather than buying a rocket at an astronomical price, he broke down the costs of the materials necessary, and set about assembling a team to do it for himself. The result was SpaceX, which reduced the costs of launching a rocket by 90%, while still making a profit. The same thinking was been used to create both Tesla cars and batteries, each relying on the other as a means to the end of replacing fossil fuels with renewables.
John ’40 second’ Boyd similarly broke the development and performance of fighter jets down to first principles, arriving at the OODA loop. He took it further with his thought experiment that led to the snowmobile.
These examples have something in common: they all combine ideas from different fields into a new solution to an old problem. How do you think the first suitcase with wheels came about? Engineer Bernard Sadow had a patent issued in 1972 after seeing the solution to his ‘luggage-lugging’ in an airport in 1970. However, real credit should go to a Croatian artist with a colourful background, Joseph Krupa, who stuck some wheels on a suitcase in 1954.
The key is to be able to see things from a functional perspective, rather than as a continuation and improvement of what you currently have. We have flying cars already, called aeroplanes, different form to what most might imagine, but the function is as we imagined, movement by air. The light bulb was not a result of continuous improvement of the candle, and the internet did not appear as just another significant improvement on Guttenberg’s printing press.
Thinking from first principles requires that you put aside all the accepted wisdoms, conventions, and forms in order to get back to the core truth. It is in effect another form of the lean ‘5 why’ tool, so useful in removing waste from processes.
The header photo is of Joseph Kruppa and his wheeled suitcase taken about 1954
Addition: This article by Michael Simmons has many more examples of situations which required the application of first principles to come to light, and the blindspots that prevent that happening..
