Name: 最有力量的思考方式｜第一原則 (The Most Powerful Way to Think | First Principles)
Uploaded: 2021-03-19T21:00:28.000Z
Duration: 8 min 19 s

In the previous video, we discussed the idea of power and created a framework for thinking

在上一個視頻中，我們討論了權力的概念，並建立了一個思考框架。

I claimed that someone needed two fundamental ingredients to be powerful: a true understanding

我聲稱，一個人要想強大，需要兩個基本要素：一個真正的理解。

of the world and the resources to shape it.

As promised, we're going to go over what I left out of the last video which was how

按照承諾，我們要去看一下我在上一個視頻中遺漏的內容，這是我如何做到的。

to obtain a truer understanding of the world.

I believe this essay will shine light on the fact that some ways of thinking are more useful

我相信這篇文章會給大家帶來啟示，有些思維方式更有用的是

Out of all of the essays that I've ever written, this one is the most important.

在我寫過的所有文章中，這一篇是最重要的。

Today, we'll be discussing how to think from first principles.

今天，我們要討論的是如何從第一原則出發進行思考。

First principles are the fundamental building blocks of an idea; they are the most indivisible

第一原則是思想的基本構件，它們是最不可分割的。

parts that we know to be true and that we use to build more complex thoughts.

我們知道是真實的部分，我們用它們來建立更復雜的思想。

I know this sounds a little abstract right now but let me give you some history, an analogy,

我知道這現在聽起來有點抽象，但讓我給你一些歷史，一個比喻。

Thinking from first principles isn't a new or groundbreaking idea.

從第一原則出發思考並不是一個新的或突破性的想法。

In fact, it's been the dominant mode of thinking among all great scientists and philosophers

事實上，它一直是所有偉大的科學家和哲學家的主要思維模式。

for awhile now; it's probably the single most consistent factor among great thinkers.

有一段時間了；這可能是偉大的思想家中最一致的一個因素。

Although there have been many practitioners of this way of thinking, I'd like to zoom

雖然這種思維方式的踐行者很多，但我想放大一下

in on one that you may have heard about: Aristotle.

在一個你可能聽說過的。亞里士多德

He was a prolific organizer who believed that everything could be divided into categories

他是一個多產的組織者，他認為一切都可以分門別類。

The smallest subcategory in any domain is what we would call a first principle.

任何領域中最小的子類就是我們所說的第一原則。

He was also one of the earliest empiricists that we know about.

他也是我們所知道的最早的經驗主義者之一。

Empiricist: someone who believes that all knowledge is achieved through experience.

經驗主義者：相信所有知識都是通過經驗獲得的人。

As one of the earliest major contributors to the study of biology, it makes sense that

作為對生物學研究最早的主要貢獻者之一，這是有道理的。

Aristotle was a first principles thinker.

亞里士多德是一個第一原理思想家。

He would dissect animals to gain real world knowledge and then use his capacity for reason

他將解剖動物以獲得現實世界的知識，然後利用他的理性能力

to organize and categorize this information.

This cycle of seeking knowledge through experience and using reason to give it structure is how

這種通過經驗尋求知識，並利用理性賦予知識以結構的循環，就是如何

one comes to know the first principles of a subject.

一個人來了解一個主題的首要原則。

Aristotle believed that we couldn't possess true knowledge unless we understood these

亞里士多德認為，除非我們理解這些，否則我們不可能擁有真正的知識。

…we do not think we know a thing until we are acquainted with its primary conditions

......我們不認為我們知道一件事，直到我們熟悉它的主要條件。

or first principles, and have carried our analysis as far as its simplest elements.

或第一原則，並將我們的分析進行到最簡單的要素。

Now that you have a slight understanding of the history, let me give you an analogy about

現在你對歷史有了些許瞭解，我給你打個比方，關於

Imagine your knowledge in a specific domain as a tree.

把你在特定領域的知識想象成一棵樹。

Someone who thinks from first principles - an unconventional thinker - will understand that

一個從第一原則出發思考的人--一個不拘一格的思考者--就會明白。

body of knowledge from the fruit all the way down to the root.

從果實一直到根部的知識體系。

The fruit is what we see in front of us: it's the unearned knowledge that we can obtain,

果就是我們眼前所看到的：是我們能得到的未得的知識。

We can look at an apple tree, say that it's just a thing that produces apples, and call

我們可以看一棵蘋果樹，說它只是一個能生產蘋果的東西，並稱其為

It's a very shallow understanding of the tree but it's not untrue.

這是對樹的一種很淺薄的理解，但也不失為一種真理。

On the other hand , a first principles thinker will want to know how this creation really

另一方面，一個第一原理的思考者會想知道這個創造到底是如何進行的

They will see that the apple is connected to a branch.

他們會看到，蘋果與樹枝相連。

Every branch is a subset of a greater whole called the trunk.

每一個分支都是一個更大的整體的子集，稱為樹幹。

Finally, they see that the root is the most fundamental part of the tree which gives rise

最後，他們看到，根是樹的最基本的部分，它引起了

They have gathered multiple pieces of information about the tree through experience but they

他們通過經驗收集了多條關於這棵樹的資訊，但他們

have also organized the pieces of information in relation to each other.

還組織了相互關聯的資訊碎片。

These free-floating facts have been transformed into an organized body of knowledge.

這些自由浮動的事實已經轉化為有組織的知識體系。

The conventional thinker will believe that they can put the apple seeds anywhere and

傳統思維的人會認為，他們可以把蘋果的種子放在任何地方，並。

grow delicious apples; they lack true understanding.

長出美味的蘋果，他們缺乏真正的理解。

Upon examining the roots, the first principles thinker will see that a delicious fruit starts

究其根源，第一原理思考者會發現，一個美味的果實開始於

with good soil; they have a nuanced understanding.

有著良好的土壤；他們有著細微的理解。

The conventional thinker is the guy at the cocktail party who has all of the interesting

傳統思想家是在雞尾酒會上擁有所有有趣的人。

facts: his knowledge consists solely of fruit that he can display.

事實：他的知識只包括他能展示的果實。

On the contrary, the unconventional thinker is consistently focused on building trees

相反，不拘一格的思想家一貫注重建樹

Like Aristotle, he or she goes back and forth between experience and reason to build an

像亞里士多德一樣，他（她）在經驗和理性之間來回穿梭，建立起一種

organized and structured body of knowledge.

A tree planted in good soil will have strong and healthy roots and thus produce delicious

在好的土壤中種植的樹，會有強壯健康的根部，從而生產出美味的食物

Likewise, an idea that blooms from true and beautiful first principles will itself be

同樣，從真善美的第一原則中綻放出來的思想本身也會是

Naturally, if the simple parts that make up a complex whole are good and true, then the

自然，如果組成複雜整體的簡單部分是好的，是真實的，那麼。

complex whole must be good and true as well.

複雜的整體也必須是好的、真實的。

This is important because, as we discussed in the last video, a true understanding of

這一點很重要，因為正如我們在上一個視頻中所討論的那樣，真正的理解了

Any complex beliefs we hold can only be true if the parts that make it up are true.

我們所持有的任何複雜的信念，只有在構成它的部分是真實的情況下，才可能是真實的。

To make this more concrete, let's think about the process of writing an essay from

為了讓這個問題更加具體，我們從以下幾個方面來思考作文的寫作過程。

A well-written essay is like a delicious fruit: it's enjoyable to consume and difficult

一篇寫得好的作文就像一個美味的水果：吃起來很享受，吃起來很困難

to produce without understanding its fundamentals.

在不瞭解其基本面的情況下進行生產。

We can identify its fundamentals by breaking it down into its component parts.

我們可以通過將其分解為各個組成部分來確定其基本面。

Well, a paragraph is a collection of sentences.

嗯，一個段落是一個句子的集合。

Words are a collection of letters and letters are the fundamental building blocks of an

單詞是字母的集合，而字母是構成一個單詞的基本構件

Once the components of an essay are understood, we can look at improving each one from the

當了解了一篇文章的組成部分後，我們就可以從提高每一篇文章的

If we can make each individual component remarkable then the totality should be remarkable and

如果我們能使每一個單獨的組成部分變得顯著，那麼整體就應該是顯著的，而且是有意義的。

that is the art of first principles thinking.

Several benefits come from understanding an idea down to its fundamental components.

從瞭解一個想法到其基本組成部分，有幾個好處。

Once you understand the fundamentals of an idea, you can rearrange them, change them,

一旦你理解了一個想法的基本原理，你就可以重新安排它們，改變它們。

or put them together differently to create a new idea or product.

或將它們以不同的方式組合在一起，創造一個新的想法或產品。

In our writing example, we could have created another layer above the essay: we could call

在我們的寫作範例中，我們可以在文章上面再建立一層：我們可以稱之為

我們現在已經發明瞭新的東西。

A fundamental component can be changed in order to improve an idea or a product.

為了改進一個想法或產品，可以改變一個基本組件。

For example, once we knew the fundamental components of the essay, we could put each

例如，當我們知道了文章的基本構成後，我們就可以把每一

of them under scrutiny to see how each component could be its best.

審視其中的每一個組成部分，看看如何才能發揮其最佳的作用。

But, without knowing these components, it's impossible to make any sort of improvement.

但是，如果不瞭解這些內容，就不可能做出任何改進。