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The First Principles Method Explained by Elon Musk
Innomind
A short excerpt of Elon Musk, interviewed by Kevin Rose, explaining first-principles reasoning with the example of the car versus improving horse carriages. He warns it takes much more mental energy than reasoning by analogy.
HN cites it as the standard illustration of reasoning from first principles, including his battery cost example.
4 Hacker News mentions · 2014–2021