First principle thinking is essential; it involves breaking down problems to their fundamental truths and building solutions from there, rather than relying on assumptions.

Focusing on first principles is crucial; understanding the actual problem we are trying to solve allows for more tactical and effective solutions.

The tools of physics are incredibly helpful for understanding and making progress in any field. First principles mean breaking things down to the fundamental elements that are most likely to be true and reasoning up from there as cogently as possible.

When faced with a difficult question, I take time to think through my response, which is similar to how reasoning models will operate by breaking down questions into manageable steps.

I'm driven by fundamental questions about how people use and are affected by the systems we build at Anthropic, and how we can use that understanding to make our systems safer.

In my classes, I encourage students to question everything and think critically, starting with intuitive questions rather than just focusing on mathematical equations.

Founders who think from first principles almost always do the best when trying to dramatically change the rules of the game.

o1 utilizes a chain of thought process to break down complex problems into smaller, manageable steps, mirroring human reasoning.

Defaults are powerful; I try to keep certain principles top of mind to guide me when I'm confused or doubtful.