My First Blog Post

I recently read an article referencing First Principles Thinking paralleled with my reading of the LAUNCH Cycle -


Chapter 7 - Navigating Ideas


Elon Musk and Bill Thurston on the Power of Thinking for Yourself


What I found interesting was the notion that we should brainstorm many times individually before coming together to brainstorm. I particularly loved these quotes:


Quotes from the article:

• First principles is kind of a physics way of looking at the world. You boil things down to the most fundamental truths and say, “What are we sure is true?” … and then reason up from there. – Elon Musk
• Reasoning by first principles is one of the best ways to develop mental models that are rare and useful. Put another way, forcing yourself to look at the fundamental facts of a situation can help you develop your own perspective on how to solve problems rather than defaulting to way the rest of the world thinks.
• We often live life by analogy and simply assume that what has been true before must be true in the future. Instead, break your problems down to their first principles and you may see very different solutions emerge.

In Chapter 7 of LAUNCH, it talks about the loudest shouters gets the most ideas on the board. It is so true. How do we get every student to have a voice. I think that is a building a foundation for student-centered learning.


Think of it this way: you wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint.