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Principles

What truths guide you when everything else is uncertain?

First principles are bedrock — truths that can't be deduced from other propositions. The primitives layer of the knowledge stack. But nobody navigating a real problem thinks "I need a physics principle." They think: What grounds me here? What am I betting on? What lever can I pull?

Principles serve three systems. The system tells you which principles to reach for.

Three Systems​

SystemForceQuestionAnswersWhen Broken
ValueAnchorWhat grounds you?Is this worth doing? Am I being who I say?Chasing wrong metrics, identity compromised
BeliefPullWhere are you going?What future am I betting on? What's right?Delusion, drift, borrowed conviction
ControlPushHow do you navigate?What do I control? What's most effective?Soulless efficiency, wasted leverage

Value — Anchor​

What you need. Who you are. What you won't violate. The open ledger — expected standards vs actual results.

SourcePrinciples
FoundationsTruth, Trust, Identity, Capacity, Power, Simplicity, Speed
GoodwillConsensus, Privacy, Security, Trust
PhilosophyDichotomy of Control, Virtue as Sufficient, Golden Mean, Eudaimonia
PsychologyReciprocity, Consistency & Commitment
BusinessUnit Economics, Value Capture
ForcesTime and Energy

Belief — Pull​

Strength of conviction. From immutable truths to innate purpose. Why you're here. Spread goodwill.

SourcePrinciples
BiologyNatural Selection, Emergence, Life Cycles
PhilosophyWu Wei, Yin-Yang, The Uncarved Block, Impermanence, The Middle Way, Interdependence
PsychologyNarrative Sense-Making, In-Group Favoritism, Social Proof
CryptoSelf Sovereign Identity, Censorship Resistance, Code Is Law
BusinessZero to One, Innovator's Dilemma, Evolutionary Forces, Timing
ForcesStories

Control — Push​

Mindset. Environment. Talents and tools. Platform and Protocol.

SourcePrinciples
PhysicsConservation of Energy, Entropy, Equilibrium, Inertia, Leverage, Feedback Loops
MathematicsPower Laws, Compounding, Regression to Mean, Network Effects, Probability, Fractals, Diminishing Returns
BiologyHomeostasis, Compartmentalization, Symbiosis, Antifragility
PsychologyLoss Aversion, Status Hierarchies, Habit Formation
PhilosophyNegative Visualization, First Principles Thinking
BusinessMoat, Distribution, Information Arbitrage, Snowball Effect, Critical Path, Opportunity Cost
CryptoComposability, Interoperability, Permissionless, Verifiable Truth
ForcesData Flow, Money, Three Flows

When You're Stuck​

The inner loop runs: Questions → Problem Solving → Decisions. When it stalls, diagnose which system is off:

SymptomSystemAsk
Wrong problem — solving something that doesn't matterValueIs this aligned with who I say I am?
Wrong direction — building toward the wrong futureBeliefWhat am I betting on and why?
Wrong execution — effort without leverageControlWhat do I actually control right now?

Dig Deeper​

Alignment Scorecard​

The gap between conviction and embeddedness is where your real work lives. Score each principle — sort by gap descending.

#SystemSourcePrincipleConviction (1-5)Understanding (1-5)Embeddedness (1-5)Gap
VALUE
1ValueFoundationsTruth, Trust, Identity
2ValueFoundationsCapacity
3ValueFoundationsPower
4ValueFoundationsSimplicity
5ValueFoundationsSpeed
6ValueFoundationsThe Truth
7ValueGoodwillConsensus
8ValueGoodwillPrivacy
9ValueGoodwillSecurity
10ValueGoodwillTrust
11ValuePhilosophyDichotomy of Control
12ValuePhilosophyVirtue as Sufficient
13ValuePhilosophyThe Golden Mean
14ValuePhilosophyEudaimonia (Flourishing)
15ValuePsychologyReciprocity
16ValuePsychologyConsistency & Commitment
17ValueBusinessUnit Economics
18ValueBusinessValue Capture
19ValueForcesTime and Energy
BELIEF
20BeliefBiologyNatural Selection
21BeliefBiologyEmergence
22BeliefBiologyLife Cycles
23BeliefPhilosophyWu Wei (Non-Action)
24BeliefPhilosophyYin-Yang
25BeliefPhilosophyThe Uncarved Block
26BeliefPhilosophyImpermanence
27BeliefPhilosophyThe Middle Way
28BeliefPhilosophyInterdependence
29BeliefPsychologyNarrative Sense-Making
30BeliefPsychologyIn-Group Favoritism
31BeliefPsychologySocial Proof
32BeliefCryptoSelf Sovereign Identity
33BeliefCryptoCensorship Resistance
34BeliefCryptoCode Is Law
35BeliefBusinessZero to One
36BeliefBusinessInnovator's Dilemma
37BeliefBusinessEvolutionary Forces
38BeliefBusinessBusiness Timing
39BeliefForcesStories
CONTROL
40ControlPhysicsConservation of Energy
41ControlPhysicsEntropy
42ControlPhysicsEquilibrium
43ControlPhysicsInertia
44ControlPhysicsLeverage
45ControlPhysicsFeedback Loops
46ControlMathematicsPower Laws (Pareto)
47ControlMathematicsCompound Effects
48ControlMathematicsRegression to Mean
49ControlMathematicsNetwork Effects
50ControlMathematicsProbability & Base Rates
51ControlMathematicsScale Invariance (Fractals)
52ControlMathematicsDiminishing Returns
53ControlBiologyHomeostasis
54ControlBiologyCompartmentalization
55ControlBiologySymbiosis
56ControlBiologyAntifragility
57ControlPsychologyLoss Aversion
58ControlPsychologyStatus Hierarchies
59ControlPsychologyHabit Formation
60ControlPhilosophyNegative Visualization
61ControlPhilosophyFirst Principles Thinking
62ControlBusinessMoat
63ControlBusinessDistribution
64ControlBusinessInformation Arbitrage
65ControlBusinessSnowball Effect
66ControlBusinessCritical Path
67ControlBusinessOpportunity Cost
68ControlCryptoComposability
69ControlCryptoInteroperability
70ControlCryptoPermissionless
71ControlCryptoVerifiable Truth
72ControlForcesData Flow
73ControlForcesMoney
74ControlForcesThree Flows

How to score:

  • Conviction — How important is this principle? (1 = irrelevant, 5 = non-negotiable)
  • Understanding — How well do you grasp it? (1 = heard of it, 5 = could teach it)
  • Embeddedness — How consistently do you act on it? (1 = ignored, 5 = automatic)
  • Gap — Conviction minus Embeddedness. Positive = you believe it but don't do it. That's where the work is.

Three uses:

  1. Personal — Score yourself. Sort by gap. Work on the biggest gaps.
  2. Team — Everyone scores independently. Where conviction differs = values conversation. Where embeddedness differs = perception conversation.
  3. Priority — Sort by conviction descending. Your top 10 are your actual operating principles. If you can't get to 10, you haven't thought hard enough. If you have more than 15, you haven't been honest enough.

Context​