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thinking-first-principles

separate

When a constraint is treated as fixed, separate physics from convention, keep only independently supported primitives, and rebuild the simplest solution that satisfies real constraints.

When to use

• A constraint is treated as fixed ("too expensive," "impossible," "always done this way") without independent support.
• Convention or analogy has failed, stalled, or only yields weak incremental variants.
• Greenfield design where industry defaults may smuggle false requirements.
• Cost or feasibility claims rest on pricing, precedent, or authority rather than physics, math, or measured need.

When not to use

• The constraint is verified physics, hard regulation, or measured capacity → accept it and optimize within it.
• A proven standard library, protocol, or known-good pattern already fits → use it; do not re-derive.
• Time-critical incidents → act on the most likely cause first; reserve first-principles rebuild for post-incident redesign.
• Incremental polish of a working system with no false-constraint signal → skip.

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