Scientific Definition
Break a problem down to irreducible truths and rebuild from there.
Plain-English Definition
Break a problem down to irreducible truths and rebuild from there.
Feynman Explanation
Reasoning by analogy is fast. Reasoning by first principles is right.
Core Principle
Break a problem down to irreducible truths and rebuild from there.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Break a problem down to irreducible truths and rebuild from there.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Strategic resets when industry assumptions stop holding.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Reasoning by analogy is fast. Reasoning by first principles is right.
Examples
- Musk on rockets: 'What are the raw materials? What do they cost?'
- Strategic resets when industry assumptions stop holding.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Every annual plan: list five assumptions you'd defend, then attack each one.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Every annual plan: list five assumptions you'd defend, then attack each one.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
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Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Reasoning from foundational truths rather than from analogy or convention.
Deriving general rules from specific examples; the leap from instance to concept.
The brain evolved to reason adaptively, not always truthfully, to reduce the cost of errors.
We solve problems by adding, even when subtracting would be better.
Assuming that if one option is true, another must be false, when both can be true.
Presuming a purposeful actor behind events that may have no actor at all.
What cannot be settled by experiment is not worth debating.
A finite set of well-defined instructions for solving a problem or performing a computation.
Every model simplifies reality; some are still useful.
Researchers favor conclusions aligned with their school, team, or sponsor.
Using personal stories or isolated examples instead of evidence.
Claiming something is true or better because most people believe it.