First-Principles Thinking
Break a problem into what is actually known and rebuild from there instead of reasoning by analogy from how things are usually done; slow, expensive, and the only reliable way past an assumption everyone shares.
An everyday example
Costing a product from its raw inputs and finding the 'industry standard' price is five times the materials.
What it can cost you
Reasoning by analogy when the analogy is what the incumbent wants you to use; or applying first principles to everything and never shipping.
Warning signs
- My reasoning starts from what others do.
- I cannot say why the standard is the standard.
One thing to do
Reserve it for the decisions where the conventional answer is most costly; there, list every assumption and ask 'how do I know that?' of each.
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