Principles
What truths guide you when everything else is uncertain?
First principles are bedrock assumptions that cannot be deduced from other propositions. When complexity overwhelms, return to principles. When options multiply, let principles filter.
Principles are the primitives layer of the knowledge stack — first truths discovered by science that can't be reduced further. Protocols sequence these primitives into methods. The most proven protocols become standards.
🗃️ Crypto
7 items
📄️ Biology
What principles govern all living systems?
🗃️ Business
14 items
🗃️ Forces
4 items
🗃️ Life
6 items
🗃️ Goodwill
4 items
📄️ Mathematics
What mathematical patterns recur across all domains?
📄️ Philosophy
What ancient wisdom has survived 2,000+ years of testing?
📄️ Physics
What laws govern everything that moves and changes?
📄️ Psychology
What patterns in human behavior have held across all cultures and all time?
The Disciplines
Multidisciplinary thinking requires principles from multiple domains. Reality doesn't respect academic boundaries.
Source Disciplines
Timeless truths from nature and human experience:
| Discipline | Core Insight | Key Principles |
|---|---|---|
| Physics | Laws that govern everything | Conservation, entropy, leverage, feedback |
| Biology | How living systems work | Evolution, homeostasis, emergence, cycles |
| Psychology | Human nature across all cultures | Reciprocity, status, loss aversion, habits |
| Mathematics | Patterns that recur everywhere | Power laws, compounding, probability, networks |
| Philosophy | Ancient wisdom that survived | Stoicism, Taoism, Aristotelian ethics |
Application Domains
Principles applied to specific contexts:
| Domain | Focus | Key Principles |
|---|---|---|
| Business | Value creation and capture | Leverage, moats, network effects, timing |
| Crypto | Decentralized coordination | Permissionless, composable, verifiable |
| Forces | Resources that transform | Data, money, stories, time & energy |
| Foundations | Epistemic ground | Truth, trust, identity |
| Goodwill | Social coordination | Trust, consensus, privacy, morals |
The Hierarchy
PHYSICS (laws that govern everything)
↓
BIOLOGY (living systems)
↓
PSYCHOLOGY (human nature)
↓
ECONOMICS (coordination)
↓
APPLICATION (your context)
Each layer constrains the next. You can't violate physics with biology. You can't ignore psychology with economics.
Transformative Forces
Data and energy are the lifeblood of the AI economy. Standards define the platform for progress.
| Force | What It Is | Why It Transforms |
|---|---|---|
| Data | Know-how, patterns | AI makes it actionable |
| Energy | Power to do work | Cheap energy = cheap transformation |
| Leverage | Force multipliers | Code, capital, coordination |
| Stories | Shared meaning | Shapes belief and action |
Reasoning Process
- All solutions are temporary; insightful questions are timeless
- Don't optimize things that should not exist
- Put full focus on desired outcomes then work back in straightest path
- Iteratively delete things to confirm outcomes justify their existence
- Accelerate cycle time
- Automate progress with fail-safe signals
Value
| Without Principles | With Principles |
|---|---|
| React to events | Respond from values |
| Optimize locally | Optimize systemically |
| Follow trends | Lead with conviction |
| Paralyzed by options | Clear decision filters |
| Inconsistent actions | Coherent strategy |
Decision Filter
When facing a decision:
- What principles apply here?
- Do any principles conflict?
- Which principle takes precedence in this context?
- What would strict adherence look like?
- What's the minimum viable compromise?
Reflection
- Can I articulate my top 5 principles?
- Do my actions align with my stated principles?
- When did I last violate a principle? Why?
- Which principle needs strengthening?
- What principle am I avoiding?