How to Understand Complex Concepts – The Elon Musk Method

those who are able to understand the most complex concepts are able to achieve greater success quicker which typically correlates to greater wealth and the tech sector in Silicon Valley is a hot bed of complex Concepts many of which are being discussed and addressed for the first time the most definitive example of this is Elon musque who's demonstrated an ability to comprehend complexities across a number of verticals be that across rocket propulsion with SpaceX across electric vehicles with Tesla or across neurot technology with neuralink elon's often spoken about thinking about things from first principles but what

does that actually mean and what are examples of where first principles thinking has facilitated the comprehension of complex Concepts as an aerospace engineer and an investment banker working on complex m&a deals first principles thinking has been important to understand difficult ideas for me personally so let's dive in to share how you can exercise first principles thinking in your [Music] work at the heart of first principal's thinking is the idea of looking at what you're working on in the most simplest way possible this means using clear and accessible language there is a tendency of most people

to want to explain complex ideas with further complex language but this doesn't help things and perhaps underlines the fact that the explainer themselves doesn't understand what they're talking about avoiding jargon and technicalities makes the information more understandable for a broader audience a second approach to simplify Concepts is to rely on analogies and metaphors to further your understanding by drawing parallels with the everyday experiences or familiar object or concepts it is easier to make ideas more relatable to a nonexpert audience this is critically more important when trying to explain abstract ideas that are difficult to visualize

or experience as these ideas can be difficult for people to [Music] grasp a very helpful framework to deploy to ensure you understand something is to consider that you're explaining something to a 5-year-old this is a popular approach and the reason for focusing explanation to a 5-year-old is due to a number of reasons firstly 5-year-olds typically have a significantly expanded vocabulary and can express themselves clearly whilst being curious and asking many questions as they explore the world around them secondly 5-year-olds typically begin to show improved problem solving skills and can understand cause and effect relationships which

are often a key part of critical Concepts and thirdly 5-year-olds enjoy imaginative play engaging in role playing and creating fictional scenarios which encourages an analogous approach to your explanations as such if you test the concept you are trying to understand as though you were explaining it to a 5-year-old you'd quickly realize whether or not you understand something the other beauty of this approach is that you will see the gaps in your own logic and understanding for the constructs that you do not fully yet appreciate the explain it to a 5-year-old concept is in some ways

another way of saying first principles thinking because it requires You by default to break things down to their most basic [Music] premise when applying first principles thinking one of the key tenants is challenging and not accepting current limitations rather than adhering to established constraints or assumptions individuals adopting this approach critically examine why these limitations exist in the first place for instance in the realm of Technology a common limitation might be the cost associated with manufacturing a particular device instead of accepting this as an unalterable reality a first principles thinker would break down the cost components

questioning each element and seeking alternative methods or materials that might reduce expenses by refusing to accept existing limitations this mindset encourages a more profound exploration of possibilities also not accepting current limitations for ERS a mindset of continuous Improvement and Innovation it opens the door to envisioning entirely new solutions that might defy conventional wisdom Elon Musk applied first principes thinking to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry by questioning established norms and addressing key challenges instead of accepting the high cost of batteries as a given limitation musk deconstructed the fundamental components of battery Manufacturing leading to the creation

of Tesla's gigafactories and a significant reduction in battery costs additionally he challenged conventional design principles leveraging first principles to create Sleek high performance electric vehicles that defied industry Norms through this approach Elon transformed the perception of electric vehicles illustrating the power of fundamental understanding and Innovative thinking in overcoming industry constraints by pushing against boundaries and embracing a spirit of curiosity and inquiry individuals can unlock creative potential leading to groundbreaking solutions that transcend the limitations previously deemed insurmountable in essence not accepting current limitations is a catalyst for transformative change and progress what better way to get

an appreciation for first principles thinking than by using using it to understand a concept no doubt Elon also tried to understand when he set up SpaceX about 20 years ago first principles thinking applied to rocketry involves breaking down the system into its fundamental components then it's necessary to develop an understanding of the basic principles of physics such as Newton's third law and finally it's necessary to design each part of a rocket with a clear understanding of its purpose in achieving propulsion so firstly breaking down the rocket system into its fundamental principle the fundamental principle of

rocketry is propulsion and it is propulsion which involves pushing something in the opposite direction you want to go in a rocket this is achieved by expelling mass at high speed explain this to a 5-year-old you could position propulsion as imagine a rocket is like a big powerful toy car but instead of Wheels to move forward Ward it has something special called engines these engines are like the rocket super duper boosters when the rocket wants to go into the sky it turns on these boosters and they shoot out a lot of hot fiery air from the

back this fiery air pushes the rocket really really fast just like when you blow up a balloon and Let It Go the rocket goes zoom and off it goes into space leaving Earth to explore the Stars next it's necessary to understand the basic idea of physics that plays a role in rocketry Newton's third law of motion states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction in the context of a rocket the action is the expulsion of gases from the rocket engine and the reaction is the forward motion of that rocket explaining this

to a 5-year-old you might say Newton's third law is a way of saying that when you push or pull something that thing pushes or pulls you back just as hard but in the opposite direction it's like playing with a friend on a seesaw when you push down on one end the other end goes up so if a rocket is pushing fiery stuff down that fiery stuff is also pushing the rocket up into the sky it's a rule that helps things move and saw like rockets flying high above us so now that we know propulsion is

the basic principle of rockets and it is predicated on Newton's third law this can help us design a rocket with an appreciation for propulsion propulsion comes from the Rocket's engines and breaking down the rocket engine into its basic components gives us the combustion chamber and an nozzle in the combustion chamber Fuel and oxidizer combined creating a high pressure high temperature gas this gas is then expelled through the nozzle at high speed producing thrust and thrust is just the force generated by the expulsion of gases according to Newton's third LW the thrust propels a rocket in

the opposite [Applause] direction Rockets often have multiple stages instead of carrying all the fuel from the beginning each stage carries only what it needs as a sage is used up it's jettisoned making the remaining rocket lighter and more efficient trying to get this idea across to a 5-year-old you might say imagine a rocket is like a super cool toy with different parts stacked on top of each other now when the rocket goes up to space it doesn't need all the parts the whole time so as it goes higher and higher it drops off the parts

it doesn't need anymore just like taking off a layer of clothing when you're not cold anymore this makes the rocket lighter faster and zoom even more into space it's like a rock rocket shedding its layers to fly like a superhero reaching for the [Music] Stars when designing a rocket consideration is also given to the payload it needs to carry the efficiency of fuel consumption and the desired speed these factors influence the size of the rocket the type of fuel used and the overall [Music] design understanding complex Concepts is a superpower and with a little effort

it's something anyone can Master as long as they put a proper framework in place the right framework involves simplifying any problem with simple language and by using analogies so that abstract Concepts become real consider if you're able to explain the concept to a 5-year-old as the litmus test of your own understanding then challenge existing limitations and beliefs to ensure sure you take nothing for granted in your understanding and to ensure your comprehension is holistic thanks for [Music] watching