Thinking method · Varol, Think Like a Rocket Scientist

First principles

Rebuilding from what you actually know rather than from how it is currently done. When the standard answer keeps failing, and only then — this is slow.

Free — no account needed to read

Rebuilding from what you actually know rather than from how it is currently done.

The steps

1. Write how the thing is normally done.
2. For each part, ask: is this a law, or a convention someone chose?
3. Strip out every convention. List only what must be true.
4. Rebuild a solution using only those.
5. Compare with the conventional answer, and be honest if the convention wins.

When to use it

When the standard answer keeps failing, and only then — this is slow.

What it will not do

Conventions often encode hard-won reasons. Stripping one out is a hypothesis, not an insight.

Where it comes from: Varol, Think Like a Rocket Scientist. Described in our own words.