First principles thinking
Strip away the habits. Rebuild from what is true.
First principles thinking separates what everyone assumes from what is actually true, then reasons up from the facts alone. The canvas lays it out in three steps — inherited assumptions, irreducible facts, the rebuilt answer — one card each.
- Price
- Free
- Online
- Runs in your browser — two runs with no account, then a free account
- Desktop
- Also works on your own files and writes the result up
Runs on the MindMax thinking canvas →All online tools
When to reason from first principles
When every option on the table looks like a small variation of what has always been done, or when a cost “just keeps growing”.
- List assumptions as sentences you can test, not as values: “more customers need more agents”.
- A fact is something you could show with data; a habit is something you were told.
- Rebuild with a measurable target, so the new answer can be checked rather than admired.
How the canvas builds it
Type the problem
One sentence is enough — the question you would bring to a whiteboard.
Pick “First principles”
The framework decides how the problem is cut: which cards appear and what each one must answer.
Read the map
One card per branch, plus a hub card that says what the branches add up to.
Go deeper where it matters
Expand any item: break it down again, ask a follow-up, or apply another framework to that branch.
Where it gets hard
- Two runs with no account, then a free account
Type your problem and the canvas builds it right in your browser. Two runs need no account; after that, sign in with a free account and runs use the AI allowance in your plan. Canvases stay in this browser — export them, or share a read-only link, to keep them elsewhere.
- Facts still need checking
The canvas separates assumptions from facts, but it cannot verify your facts. In the example, “62% of tickets come from five questions” is the kind of claim to confirm in your own data.
- In the desktop app today
First principles is a built-in skill on the desktop canvas, and it can work from your own documents.
Common questions
What is first principles thinking?
Breaking a problem down to the facts you know are true, and building a solution from those facts instead of from analogy or convention.
How is it different from an issue tree?
An issue tree splits a question into smaller questions. First principles questions the premises behind the question itself.
Is it free?
Yes. Two runs online need no account; after that a free account is enough, and runs use the Free plan’s weekly AI allowance. Exploring the examples is always free, and the AI canvas in the desktop app works on the Free plan too.
Rebuild your problem from what is actually true
Two runs need no account, then a free account. To work on your own files, use the free desktop app.