Mental Model : Deconstruct to Core Building Blocks
First principles. The best part about practicing this particular mental model is that it creates a mindset of possibility. Complex problems can be solved, big goals can be attained, ideas can be executed, and you really can tackle that big task you’ve been putting off.
When faced with a complex problem or task or goal, it’s best to break it down into smaller and simpler parts. The core building blocks. Then you can reconstruct from there.
Consider your experience of reading this article right now. As a child, you started with the core building blocks of learning alphabets and the sounds they make. Then you learned to put letters together to form words. Then you put words together to form sentences. And here you are now, reading an article on mental models for sharper thinking.
Now let’s flip this to where you start with the intimidating and complex goal of learning a new language, perhaps in a script or alphabet different to Latin or unfamiliar to you, maybe Arabic or Mandarin. The thought of becoming fluent could feel so out of reach, so intimidating a task to take on, that you might consider giving up before you even get started. This is most people. You don’t have to be most people.
Deconstruct to the core building blocks, and reconstruct from there. This takes time and effort, as most good things do. Start with the alphabets and sounds, then put them together into words, create sentences, and before you know it 你可以阅读这个.
First Principles
Aristotle, considered to be the world’s greatest philosopher, used a way of thinking and reasoning he called “first principle”, or as “the first basis from which a thing is known”.
Simply put, this is an exercise in reverse-engineering complicated problems into the most fundamental truths, truths that cannot be further refuted. It creates a better perspective of the problem and the potential solution, clarity for better understanding, and opens up creative possibilities we may not have seen before.
Breaking down complex problems into simple parts involves asking powerful questions, separating assumptions from facts, and stripping down to the simple core building blocks that make up the complicated whole. It also involves approaching the process from a mindset of curiosity, wonder, and humility. Accepting that we don’t know what we don’t know, and there is a lot that we don’t know.
The worlds greatest thinkers and innovators have employed this mental model to solve some of the most complex problems. The most popularly known example of our time : Elon Musk.
🚀 It’s not rocket science.
But it kind of actually is. Elon Musk founded SpaceX with the mission to launch humanity into an interplanetary age. At the start of his journey (not to Mars, but the process of figuring out how to get there), he realized the cost of rockets was so astronomically high, it was far too inefficient to even consider. He began to rethink the problem.
First principles. Here is the TLDR :
“I tend to approach things from a physics framework. And physics teaches you to reason from first principles rather than by analogy. So I said, OK, let’s look at the first principles. What is a rocket made of? Aerospace-grade aluminum alloys, plus some titanium, copper, and carbon fiber. And then I asked, what is the value of those materials on the commodity market? It turned out that the materials cost of a rocket was around 2 percent of the typical price — which is a crazy ratio for a large mechanical product.”
- Elon Musk, Mission to Mars (Wired)
There are simple parts that make up the complex whole. Deconstruct to the core building blocks. Then reconstruct more effectively.
The complex whole is made up of simpler smaller parts. This also implies that improving the quality or efficiency of the smaller parts will improve the quality and efficiency of the whole. This applies to quality of materials for building rockets, as well as the quality of ingredients for baking cookies.
There are numerous other examples of great leaders and thinkers who reason using first principles, along with a combination of other mental models that work best for how their individual brains are wired. When you begin to practice this for yourself, you’ll begin to notice it in others.
A key aspect of reasoning with first principles is to value the need to find truth over the need to be right. Without this, we either solve for the wrong problems or create inferior solutions. It helps to be an independent thinker, someone who has overcome the discomfort of going against the status quo or the pressure of fitting in, and open-minded enough to seek out and understand the world from perspectives different to our own. It requires stress testing our own ideas from a place of humility and curiosity, and having the courage to try, despite the possibility of failure. Having the courage to try again, despite the possibility of failure. Knowing valuable disagreement vs noise. And importantly, knowing when to move on to the actual doing part.
It’s hard. And constant. But it somehow gets better over time. My running journey has made me realize that the run itself doesn’t get easier. You just get better at taking on harder things. Mental model in action.
💡Deconstruct to the core building blocks. You can reconstruct or reinvent. But you can also reimagine.
💡For more on mental models : The Art of Problem Solving
