Eric Jorgensen

All right, well, let me look at what are the raw components of a rocket, not engine and like flaps, but how much aluminum? How much oxygen? How much carbon? Like what is this thing made of? And what is the cost of those things? And he came up with this index. It's like the raw material of stuff in this rocket is...

All right, well, let me look at what are the raw components of a rocket, not engine and like flaps, but how much aluminum? How much oxygen? How much carbon? Like what is this thing made of? And what is the cost of those things? And he came up with this index. It's like the raw material of stuff in this rocket is...

you know, like maybe it's half a million dollars and the rocket is selling for a hundred million dollars. So what accounts for that 2000 X increase? Um, that's probably off by an order of magnitude, 200. Yeah, whatever. Um, what accounts for that? And so thinking in the limit of how could you approach this problem? Like how cheaply could you possibly arrange these materials in the,

you know, like maybe it's half a million dollars and the rocket is selling for a hundred million dollars. So what accounts for that 2000 X increase? Um, that's probably off by an order of magnitude, 200. Yeah, whatever. Um, what accounts for that? And so thinking in the limit of how could you approach this problem? Like how cheaply could you possibly arrange these materials in the,

shape that they need to be to have a rocket and how much more cheaply could you build it? Um, and this is like a universal thing that you can look at anything in your life through this lens. Um, you know, first principles might be like, it just opens your lens of problem solving to see a lot of different opportunities that you might not have included.

shape that they need to be to have a rocket and how much more cheaply could you build it? Um, and this is like a universal thing that you can look at anything in your life through this lens. Um, you know, first principles might be like, it just opens your lens of problem solving to see a lot of different opportunities that you might not have included.

Yeah, I think the whys is almost the inverse of first principles. So if you ask enough whys, you can drill down to – and that's why it's not just why. It's like the five whys or the six whys. Like keep going down. Why is it so expensive? Well, why is it manufactured that way? Well, why is it only – like –

Yeah, I think the whys is almost the inverse of first principles. So if you ask enough whys, you can drill down to – and that's why it's not just why. It's like the five whys or the six whys. Like keep going down. Why is it so expensive? Well, why is it manufactured that way? Well, why is it only – like –

maybe it had to travel a really long way why is it only manufactured in china like why why why why but the first principles version just like cuts all of those and if you can make that creative leap to go all the way down from the very beginning um you know like the opposite of reasoning from first principles is reasoning by analogy which is how almost all of us do almost everything

maybe it had to travel a really long way why is it only manufactured in china like why why why why but the first principles version just like cuts all of those and if you can make that creative leap to go all the way down from the very beginning um you know like the opposite of reasoning from first principles is reasoning by analogy which is how almost all of us do almost everything

If you say, oh, I need to get to work, I can't afford a car. Because that's how you see everybody else get to work. You don't necessarily think, I need to get to work, what is the cheapest possible way for me to get to work? Or what is the most efficient way? You just, by nature, observe what everyone else is doing, and that's your starting place, rather than starting from...

If you say, oh, I need to get to work, I can't afford a car. Because that's how you see everybody else get to work. You don't necessarily think, I need to get to work, what is the cheapest possible way for me to get to work? Or what is the most efficient way? You just, by nature, observe what everyone else is doing, and that's your starting place, rather than starting from...

What are your full set of options? Because it's exhausting to think that way. You can't do that for everything in your life. But for the most important problems, either the most important or the most valuable, that is a really effective way. And they continue to do this. I'm just going to keep using Elon examples because that's where my head's been at. But that's where the tower came from.

What are your full set of options? Because it's exhausting to think that way. You can't do that for everything in your life. But for the most important problems, either the most important or the most valuable, that is a really effective way. And they continue to do this. I'm just going to keep using Elon examples because that's where my head's been at. But that's where the tower came from.

What is the best possible solution? What is the way to get the lightest possible craft? And one of the really heavy things are the landing legs. And so how do we not have landing legs? It's like, well, put the landing legs outside the vehicle. It's like, is that even theoretically physically possible? It's like, sure, it's physically possible. It seems extremely difficult, never been done before.

What is the best possible solution? What is the way to get the lightest possible craft? And one of the really heavy things are the landing legs. And so how do we not have landing legs? It's like, well, put the landing legs outside the vehicle. It's like, is that even theoretically physically possible? It's like, sure, it's physically possible. It seems extremely difficult, never been done before.

But like, let's try it because they just run towards trying the... most theoretically beneficial thing, even if it is the most technically difficult. And that's where so many of these breakthroughs have come from. And I think thinking in these first principles is actually one of the unlocking things.

But like, let's try it because they just run towards trying the... most theoretically beneficial thing, even if it is the most technically difficult. And that's where so many of these breakthroughs have come from. And I think thinking in these first principles is actually one of the unlocking things.

And it takes a lot of courage and it takes a lot of talent to actually run down those ideas once they've been created. but you've got to break the constraint of reasoning by analogy and you've got to run towards that really clean, terrifying idea that emerges when you strip away all the bullshit.

And it takes a lot of courage and it takes a lot of talent to actually run down those ideas once they've been created. but you've got to break the constraint of reasoning by analogy and you've got to run towards that really clean, terrifying idea that emerges when you strip away all the bullshit.