Elon Musk’s "3-Step" First Principles Thinking: How to Think and Solve Difficult Problems Like a Genius
伊隆馬斯克的「三步驟」第一原理思維：如何像天才一樣思考解決難題
By the age of 46 years old, Elon Musk has innovated and built three revolutionary multibillion dollar companies in completely different fields— Paypal(Financial Services), Tesla Motors (Automotive) and SpaceX (Aerospace).
到了 46 歲時，馬斯克已經在完全不同的領域創新並建立了三家革命性的數十億美元公司——Paypal（金融服務）、特斯拉汽車（汽車）和 SpaceX（航空航天）。
This list doesn’t even include Solar City (Energy), which he helped build and acquired for $2.6 Billion recently.
這份名單甚至還不包括他參與建設並最近以 26 億美元收購的 Solar City (Energy)。
At first glance, it’s easy to link his rapid success, ability to solve unsolvable problems and genius level creativity to his incredible work ethic.
乍一看，我們很容易將他的快速成功、解決無法解決的問題的能力和天才級的創造力與他令人難以置信的職業道德聯繫起來。
Musk himself stated that he worked approximately 100 hours a week for over 15 years and recently scaled down to 85 hours. Rumour also has it that he doesn’t even take lunch breaks, multitasking between eating, meetings and responding to emails all at the same time.
馬斯克本人表示，15 年來他每週工作時間約 100 小時，最近減少到 85 小時。還有傳言說，他甚至沒有午休時間，同時吃飯、開會和回覆電子郵件。
No doubt work ethic plays an important role in unlocking your inner creative genius and becoming the best at what you do—but there’s more to this—there are extremely hard-working people who still make little progress in life and die before sharing their best work with the world.
毫無疑問，職業道德在釋放你內在的創造天賦和成為你所做事情中的佼佼者方面發揮著重要作用——但更重要的是——有些極其勤奮的人在生活中仍然沒有取得什麼進步，甚至在與世界分享他們最好的作品之前就去世了。
What then is this missing link for innovative creativity and accelerated success?
那麼，創新創造力和加速成功所缺少的環節是什麼呢？
Just like Musk, some of the most brilliant minds of all-time—Aristotle, Euclid, Thomas Edison, Feynman and Nikola Tesla—use this missing link for accelerated learning, solving difficult problems and creating great work in their lifetime.
就像馬斯克一樣，一些有史以來最聰明的頭腦——亞里斯多德、歐幾里德、托馬斯·愛迪生、費曼和尼古拉·特斯拉——利用這個缺失的環節來加速學習、解決難題並在一生中創造出偉大的作品。
This missing link has little to do with how hard they work. It has everything to do with how they think.
這個缺失的環節與他們的努力程度沒有太大關係。這與他們的思考方式息息相關。
Let’s talk about how you can quickly use this genius problem solving method.
讓我們來談談如何快速使用這種天才的解決問題方法。
First Principles Thinking
第一原理思考
During a one on one interview with TED Curator, Chris Anderson, Musk reveals this missing link which he attributes to his genius level creativity and success. It’s called reasoning from “First Principles.” [1]
在接受 TED 策展人 Chris Anderson 的一對一採訪時，馬斯克透露了這個缺失的環節，他將其歸因於他的天才級創造力和成功。這被稱為「第一原理」推理。 [1]
Musk: Well, I do think there’s a good framework for thinking. It is physics. You know, the sort of first principles reasoning. Generally I think there are — what I mean by that is, boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there, as opposed to reasoning by analogy.
馬斯克： 嗯，我確實認為有一個很好的思考框架。這是物理學。你知道，這是一種第一原理推理。一般來說，我認為——我的意思是，將事物歸結為其基本事實，並從那裡進行推理，而不是透過類比推理。Through most of our life, we get through life by reasoning by analogy, which essentially means copying what other people do with slight variations.
在我們一生中的大部分時間裡，我們都是靠類比推理來度過一生的，這本質上意味著複製其他人所做的事情，並且略作改動。
In layman’s terms, first principles thinking is basically the practice of actively questioning every assumption you think you ‘know’ about a given problem or scenario—and then creating new knowledge and solutions from scratch. Almost like a newborn baby.
通俗地說，第一性原理思維基本上就是積極質疑你認為你對給定問題或場景 「了解」 的每一個假設，然後從頭開始創造新的知識和解決方案的實踐。幾乎就像一個新生嬰兒。
On the flip side, reasoning by analogy is building knowledge and solving problems based on prior assumptions, beliefs and widely held ‘best practices’ approved by majority of people.
另一方面，類比推理是根據先前的假設、信念和大多數人認可的廣泛持有的「最佳實踐」來建構知識和解決問題。
Essentially, first principles thinking will help you develop a unique worldview to innovate and solve difficult problems in a way that nobody else can even fathom.
從本質上講，第一性原理思維將幫助你形成一種獨特的世界觀，以一種別人無法理解的方式進行創新並解決難題。
Here’s how you can quickly use this in 3 simple steps recommended by Elon Musk himself.
以下是伊隆馬斯克本人推薦的 3 個簡單步驟，讓您可以快速使用它。
STEP 1: Identify and define your current assumptions
步驟 1：辨識並定義你目前的假設
“If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
“如果我有一小時來解決一個問題，我會花 55 分鐘思考這個問題，花 5 分鐘思考解決方案。”
– Albert Einstein – 阿爾伯特愛因斯坦
Here are some examples from everyday life in business, health and craft.
以下是商業、健康和工藝領域日常生活中的一些例子。
“Growing my business will cost a lot of money.”
“擴大我的業務將花費很多錢。”“I have to struggle and starve to become a successful artist.”
“為了成為一名成功的藝術家，我必須奮鬥、忍飢挨餓。”“I just can’t find enough time to workout and reach my weight loss goals.”
“我只是找不到足夠的時間來鍛煉並達到我的減肥目標。”
When next you’re faced with a familiar problem or challenge, simply write down your current assumptions about them. (Note: You can stop here and write these down now)
當您下次遇到熟悉的問題或挑戰時，只需寫下您當前對它們的假設。 （注意：你可以在這裡停下來並把這些寫下來）
STEP 2: Breakdown the problem into its fundamental principles.
第 2 步：將問題分解為其基本原理。
“It is important to view knowledge as sort of semantic tree. Make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.” [2]
將知識視為一棵語意樹非常重要。在深入研究樹葉/細節之前，請務必先理解其基本原理，例如樹幹和大樹枝，否則它們就無從依附。 [2]– Elon Musk –馬斯克
These fundamental principles are basically the most basic truths or elements of anything.
這些基本原則基本上是任何事物的最基本的真理或要素。
The best way to uncover these truths is to ask powerful questions that uncover these ingenious gems.
揭示這些真相的最佳方法是提出有力的問題來揭示這些巧妙的寶石。
Here’s a quick example from Elon Musk during an interview with Kevin Rose on how this works. [3]
以下是伊隆馬斯克在接受凱文羅斯採訪時提出的一個關於其工作原理的簡單範例。 [3]
Somebody could say, “Battery packs are really expensive and that’s just the way they will always be… Historically, it has cost $600 per kilowatt hour. It’s not going to be much better than that in the future.”
有人可能會說：“電池組真的很貴，而且以後也一直這麼貴……歷史上，它的成本是每千瓦時600美元。未來也不會比現在便宜多少。”With first principles, you say, “What are the material constituents of the batteries? What is the stock market value of the material constituents?”
根據第一原理，你會問：“電池的材料成分是什麼？這些材料成分的股票市場價值是多少？”
It’s got cobalt, nickel, aluminum, carbon, some polymers for separation and a seal can. Break that down on a material basis and say, “If we bought that on the London Metal Exchange what would each of those things cost?”
它含有鈷、鎳、鋁、碳、一些用於分離的聚合物和一個密封罐。從材料角度來分解它，然後說：“如果我們在倫敦金屬交易所購買這些東西，每件要花多少錢？”It’s like $80 per kilowatt hour. So clearly you just need to think of clever ways to take those materials and combine them into the shape of a battery cell and you can have batteries that are much, much cheaper than anyone realizes.”
每千瓦時大約是 80 美元。所以顯然你只需要想出巧妙的方法，把這些材料組合成電池的形狀，你就可以得到比任何人想像的都要便宜得多的電池。 」
This is classic first principles thinking in action.
這是典型的第一原理思考的實際體現。
Instead of following the socially accepted beliefs that battery packs were expensive, Musk challenges these beliefs by asking powerful questions that uncover the basic truths or elements i.e. carbon, nickel, aluminium.Then, he creates ingenious innovative solutions literally from scratch.
馬斯克並沒有遵循電池組昂貴的社會公認觀念，而是透過提出有力的問題來挑戰這些觀念，揭示基本事實或元素，例如碳、鎳、鋁。然後，他從頭開始創造出巧妙的創新解決方案。
STEP 3: Create new solutions from scratch
步驟 3：從頭開始建立新的解決方案
“The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks.”
“如果一個人說他知道自己在想什麼，但卻無法表達出來，那麼他通常並不知道自己在想什麼。”
— Mortimer Adler — 莫蒂默·阿德勒
Once you’ve identified and broken down your problems or assumptions into their most basic truths, you can begin to create new insightful solutions from scratch. [4]
一旦您確定了問題或假設並將其分解為最基本的事實，您就可以從頭開始創建新的富有洞察力的解決方案。 [4]
Here a three simple everyday examples of how this works (Step 1 to Step 3).
這裡有三個簡單的日常範例來說明其工作原理（步驟 1 到步驟 3）。
Assumption: “Growing my business will cost too much money”
假設：“發展我的業務將花費太多錢”
First principles thinking:
第一原理思考：
What do you need to grow a profitable business? I need to sell products or services to more customers.
您需要什麼來發展獲利業務？我需要向更多客戶銷售產品或服務。
Does it have to cost a lot of money to sell to new customers? Not necessarily, but i’ll probably need access to these new customers inexpensively.
向新客戶銷售產品是否需要花很多錢？不一定，但我可能需要以低成本的方式接觸這些新客戶。
Who has this access and how you can create a win-win deal? I guess I could partner with other businesses that serve the same customer and split the profits 50:50. Interesting.
誰有此權限以及如何達成雙贏協議？我想我可以與服務同一客戶的其他企業合作，並將利潤分成 50:50。有趣的。
Assumption: “I just can’t find enough time to workout and reach my weight loss goals.”
假設：“我只是找不到足夠的時間來鍛煉並達到我的減肥目標。”
First principles thinking:
第一原理思考：
What do you really need to reach your weight loss goal? I need to exercise more, preferably 5 days a week for an hour each time. Could you still lose weight exercising less frequently, if so how? Possibly, I could try 15 minute workouts, 3 days a week. These could be quick high intensity full body workouts that will speed up my fat loss in less time.
為了達到減肥目標您真正需要什麼？我需要多鍛煉，最好每週鍛煉5天，每次1小時。減少運動頻率還能減肥嗎？如果可以，該怎麼做？也許，我可以嘗試每週 3 天，每次 15 分鐘的運動。這些可能是快速高強度的全身鍛煉，可以在更短的時間內加速我的脂肪流失。
Assumption: “I have to struggle and starve to become a successful artist”
假設：“為了成為一名成功的藝術家，我必須奮鬥、挨餓”
First principles thinking:
第一原理思考：
What do you really need to create great work and make a good living as an artist? I would need a reasonably sized audience that will appreciate and buy my artwork.
身為藝術家，你真正需要什麼才能創作出偉大的作品並過上好日子？我需要一個合理規模的觀眾來欣賞和購買我的作品。
What do you need to reach a larger audience? I probably need to do some marketing, but I don’t like self-promoting so I’d rather not do this.
您需要做什麼才能吸引更多的受眾？我可能需要做一些行銷，但我不喜歡自我推銷，所以我寧願不這樣做。
Ok, is there any way for you to promote your work without being sleazy? Yes, if the focus of selling my artwork is meaningful with a purpose of serving the audience—then I could make more money to make more art, so I can serve more people. Interesting…
好的，有沒有什麼方法可以讓你推廣自己的作品而不顯得低俗？是的，如果我出售藝術品的重點是有意義的，目的是服務觀眾——那麼我可以賺更多的錢來創作更多的藝術品，這樣我就可以服務更多的人。有趣的…
Think Different 不同凡想
“Good ideas are always crazy until they’re not.”
“好主意總是瘋狂的，直到它們不再瘋狂為止。”
― Elon Musk: How the Billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is Shaping our Future (Audiobook).
― 伊隆馬斯克：SpaceX 和特斯拉的億萬富翁執行長如何塑造我們的未來 （ 有聲書 ）。
Usually, when we’re faced with complex problems, we default to thinking like everybody else. First principles thinking is a powerful way to help you break out of this herd mentality, think outside the box and innovate completely brand new solutions to familiar problems.
通常，當我們面臨複雜的問題時，我們會默認像其他人一樣思考。第一原理思考是一種有效的方法，可以幫助您擺脫從眾心理，跳脫固有思維模式，為熟悉的問題創新出全新的解決方案。
By identifying your current assumptions, breaking these down into their basic truths and creating solutions from scratch—you can uncover these ingenious solutions to complex problems and make unique contributions in any field.
透過識別您目前的假設，將其分解為基本事實並從頭開始創建解決方案，您可以發現這些針對複雜問題的巧妙解決方案，並在任何領域做出獨特的貢獻。
FOOTNOTES 註腳
- In this interview, Musk talks about this 100 hour work week. This is his interview on TED about first principles thinking.
在這次訪談中，馬斯克談到了每週工作 100 小時這個話題。這是他在 TED 上關於第一原理思維的訪談 。 - Musk gave this answer to a question from a reader asking him how he learns so fast. (source)
當一位讀者問到他如何學得如此之快時，馬斯克給了這樣的答案。 （來源） - Musk’s interview with Kevin Rose on first principles thinking and battery analogy.
馬斯克接受凱文·羅斯關於第一原理思維和電池類比的採訪 。 - This is not always easy. In fact, sometimes it can be a tough mental workout to use first principles thinking simply because it’s much easier to default back to what you already ‘know.’ Because of our prior assumptions and limiting beliefs, we have a tendency to only think of a very limited range of creative uses or solutions to any given problem. This is more formally known as “functional fixedness”.Dr.Tony McCaffery, Cognitive Psychologist and Innovation expert, has developed a simple method that can help us overcome this tendency and uncover creative solutions. You can read about his “general parts technique” here.
這並不總是容易的事。事實上，有時使用第一原理思考可能是一種艱難的腦力鍛煉，因為回到你已經「知道」的東西要容易得多。由於我們先前的假設和限制性信念，我們傾向於只考慮針對任何給定問題的非常有限的創造性用途或解決方案。這更正式地被稱為「功能固著」。認知心理學家和創新專家托尼麥卡弗里博士開發了一種簡單的方法，可以幫助我們克服這種傾向並發現創造性的解決方案。您可以在此處閱讀有關他的“通用零件技術”的內容。 - Thanks to peter at renaissance man journal for some inspiring insights on first principles thinking.
感謝 《文藝復興人》雜誌的彼得對第一原理思維提出的一些啟發性見解。