Extras

One of the most important skill sets for thinking rationally is resisting binary dichotomies on important, complex topics. We've succinctly categorised three types of binary thinking that are easy to fall into, and paired them with the three kinds of nuanced thinking that can be used as an antidote to these rationality traps.

Truth and existence are surprisingly complex concepts. The closer you examine them, the more complex they reveal themselves to be. What do we really mean when we make a claim like "this painting is not art" or "everything is subjective"? What exactly do we mean when we say "the color red" exists or that numbers exist?

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I believe your intellectual life is divided into two parts: before you embrace mental models and after. Mental models are frameworks for thinking. They simplify complex things so your brain can reason through them. They are shortcuts through the noise. You use them to make good decisions without needing to know everything about a situation.

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Knowing where to start can be a little difficult. To help, we've compiled a list of the best articles based on popularity, feedback, and requests to republish. If you want to browse categorically, start with decision making, reading, and mental models. Mental Models: The Best Way to Make Intelligent Decisions - Mental models are how we understand the world.

By the age of 46 years old, Elon Musk has innovated and built three revolutionary multibillion dollar companies in completely different fields - Paypal (Financial Services), Tesla Motors (Automotive) and SpaceX (Aerospace). This list doesn't even include Solar City (Energy), which he helped build and acquired for $2.6 Billion recently.

First principles thinking, which is sometimes called reasoning from first principles, is one of the most effective strategies you can employ for breaking down complicated problems and generating original solutions. It also might be the single best approach to learn how to think for yourself.

Elon Musk, Reed Hastings and a handful of other great entrepreneurs use a framework called First Principles to structure their thought. In this article, we'll explore why they do and how you can too. Recently, I've been rereading the book Principles by Ray Dalio, which is just a fantastic book.

I first heard about first principles thinking about the same time you did. (if not, you'll read about it now) Elon Musk gave a whole new life to the term fundamental principles. And if I could thank him for sharing it with us, I would.

We're sorry, but Coda doesn't work properly without JavaScript enabled. Eigenquestions: The Art of Framing Problems Before we get to the "how to" portion of this doc, let's start with a fun (and instructive) story. When I joined YouTube in 2008, one of the key dilemmas facing the company was the "link out" question.

The Great Mental Models Volumes One and Two are out. Learn more about the project here. First-principles thinking is one of the best ways to reverse-engineer complicated problems and unleash creative possibility. Sometimes called "reasoning from first principles," the idea is to break down complicated problems into basic elements and then reassemble them from the ground up.

Improve your thinking, become smarter and pioneer the future (Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash) "Elon Musk used first principles thinking to design a cheap rocket from scratch, re-use it by landing it back on Earth, and on the side - also revolutionised the electric car industry."