Thinking 2 Think
Thinking 2 Think
Michael A Aponte
How Elon Musk Thinks: First Principles Problem Solving
20 minutes Posted Feb 25, 2026 at 11:00 am.
The Investor’s Question: Why Markets
Defining First Principles Thinking
Principles Versus Analogy
What Counts As A First Principle
Exposing Hidden Assumptions In Education
Rebuilding Methods From Fundamentals
Hiring, Budget, And Conflict Decisions
Common Traps And Counters
Exercises To Practice The Skill
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Send us Fan Mail 📧 Weekly First Principles frameworks: maaponte.substack.com Most people think by analogy: "This is like that, so I'll do what worked before." But when context changes, analogy fails. And you don't even realize it's failing. First Principles Thinking is different. Instead of asking "What's this similar to?" you ask "What's actually true here?" You strip away assumptions, get to fundamental truths, and rebuild from logic. This is how Elon Musk prov...