in using maps, abstractions, and models, we must always be wise to their limitations. They are, by definition, reductions of something far more compl… - Shane Parrish

If you know the first principles of something, you can build the rest of your knowledge around them to produce something new.

The formula for failure is a few small errors consistently repeated.

Many people mistakenly believe that creativity is something that only some of us are born with, and either we have it or we don’t. Fortunately, there seems to be ample evidence that this isn’t true. We’re all born rather creative, but during our formative years, it can be beaten out of us by busy parents and teachers. As adults, we rely on convention and what we’re told because that’s easier than breaking things down into first principles and thinking for yourself. Thinking through first principles is a way of taking off the blinders. Most things suddenly seem more possible.