find-core-ideas

You identify core ideas by testing dependencies between concepts through elimination, reconstruction, and abstraction descent to isolate fundamental principles. This structured approach reveals underlying mechanisms across domains like physics, economics, and computer science.

Dependency testing is a framework that uses elimination, reconstruction, and abstraction descent to distinguish fundamental concepts from derived ideas. It works by removing a concept and checking if the remaining knowledge structure still holds together.

You reconstruct knowledge by breaking a topic into components, identifying layers, testing dependencies, and then reassembling the original concept from its core ideas. This practice ensures durable understanding rather than surface-level memorization.

First-principles thinking works across domains including biology, economics, physics, and computer science to uncover mechanisms behind phenomena. It reveals underlying structures that enable knowledge transfer to new topics through abstraction.

The process involves eight structured phases from topic articulation through component identification, layer analysis, dependency testing, core identification, reconstruction, application, and reflection. Each phase requires active learner involvement through enforced progression gates.

Use first-principles methods when standard study leads to fragile memorization rather than durable understanding of underlying mechanisms. This approach is necessary when you need to transfer knowledge to new topics or verify foundational dependencies.