[ted id=1695]
Info
- Host : TED
- Speaker : Elon Musk
- Name : Elon Musk: The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity …
- Date :?Filmed February 2013
- Place : TED2013
My one summary
‘Reasoning by Physics’ or ‘Reasoning by Analogy’ :?Physics, a good framework for thinking
Main sentences
- 19:37 “Well, I do think there’s a good framework for thinking. It is physics. You know, the sort of first principles reasoning.”
- 20:08 “when you want to do something new, you have to apply the physics approach.”
- 20:15 “Physics is really figuring out how to discover new things that are counterintuitive, like quantum mechanics. It’s really counterintuitive.”
Quotes from the speak
18:13 ~
CA : Elon, how have you done this? These projects are so — Paypal, SolarCity, Tesla, SpaceX, they’re so spectacularly different, they’re such ambitious projects at scale. How on Earth has one person been able to innovate in this way? What is it about you?
EM: I don’t know, actually. I don’t have a good answer for you. I work a lot. I mean, a lot.
…
EM: Well, thanks. Thank you. Well, I do think there’s a good framework for thinking. It is physics. You know, the sort of first principles reasoning. Generally I think there are — what I mean by that is, boil things down to their fundamental truths and reason up from there, as opposed to reasoning by analogy. Through most of our life, we get through life by reasoning by analogy, which essentially means copying what other people do with slight variations. And you have to do that. Otherwise, mentally, you wouldn’t be able to get through the day. But when you want to do something new, you have to apply the physics approach. Physics is really figuring out how to discover new things that are counterintuitive, like quantum mechanics. It’s really counterintuitive. So I think that’s an important thing to do, and then also to really pay attention to negative feedback, and solicit it, particularly from friends. This may sound like simple advice, but hardly anyone does that, and it’s incredibly helpful.