Originally published on Medium, July 20 2023 | Refreshed for Live Your Hobby on June 8 2025.
1. Why Revisit First Principles in 2025?
ChatGPT now builds code on the fly, Layer-2 chains clear thousands of micro-payments every hour, and indie founders spin up micro-SaaS products in a weekend. With noise rising, a clear mental model is priceless. First-principles thinking strips every idea to its studs so you can rebuild solutions that fit today, not yesterday.
Read the original post: https://easusj.medium.com/first-principles-thinking-your-guide-in-the-age-of-ai-and-web3-9ba2e1b16a65
2. The Backstory — Promise vs Practice
In 2023 I pledged “weekly dispatches” and vanished for two months.
That single post still sparked client calls, research gigs, and a flood of product demos.
Lesson learned: ship one useful piece, collect feedback, then iterate. Output beats intention every time.
3. What Is First-Principles Thinking?
Break any problem into its irreducible parts, question each cost and assumption, then reassemble the whole.
Aristotle’s Four Causes
| Cause | Plain-English Question | Startup Lens |
|---|---|---|
| Material | What is it made of? | Tech stack, data, capital |
| Efficient | How does it get built? | People, tools, processes |
| Formal | What defines its shape? | Feature set, rules, UX |
| Final | Why does it exist? | Customer outcome, mission |
Quick exercise: Pick a recurring expense (for example a SaaS fee). Ask “Why do we pay this?” five times. By the third “why,” a cheaper or smarter option often appears.
4. AI + Web3 Through a First-Principles Lens (mid-2025 snapshot)
| Core Principle | AI Angle | Web3 Angle | Move You Can Make Today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computation / Efficiency | o-series GPTs slash prototype time | Rollups cut gas fees 70 % | Rapid-test ideas, kill fast |
| Representation & Reasoning / Interoperability | Vector databases add context in seconds | Account-abstraction wallets smooth UX | Build workflows that talk to each other on day one |
| Incentive Structures | Fine-tuned agents earn credits for helpful code | Revenue-share NFTs fund community features | Offer users direct upside to lock in loyalty |
5. One-Hour Plays (LYH Pathways)
| Pathway | Action Item |
|---|---|
| Demystify AI | Run a “5-Whys” session with ChatGPT Projects on your top pain point. |
| Boost Productivity | Automate weekly KPI screenshots → Notion using Zapier’s AI step. |
| Build Tech Stack | Deploy a free Layer-2 wallet and mint a proof-of-consult token for new leads. |
| Grow with AI | Add AI-generated summaries to each blog post with the OpenAI Snippet plugin. |
6. Wrap-Up
First-principles thinking isn’t a buzzword, it’s a survival skill.
When AI spins up fresh competitors overnight and token incentives reshape loyalty, the founder who questions first and automates second wins the margin race.
Next step: Block 60 minutes this week to tear down one stubborn process, rebuild it with the tools above, and watch the time savings roll in.
