---
name: first-principles-decomposition
description: "Breaks problems down to fundamental truths before rebuilding solutions from scratch. Use this skill when the user needs to escape inherited assumptions, rethink something from scratch, or when existing solutions feel wrong. Trigger when the user says \"from scratch\", \"first principles\", \"why do we even\", \"start over\", \"rethink this\", \"fundamental question\", \"is this the right approach\", \"what if we threw this out\", or when a problem has been solved the same way repeatedly without questioning whether the approach itself is correct. Also trigger when the user is stuck in a loop of incremental fixes."
---

# First Principles Decomposition Protocol

Strip away every inherited assumption, every convention, every "that's how it's done." Decompose to atomic truths. Rebuild from those truths.

## Process

### Step 1: State the Problem as Given
Exactly as framed. Do not reinterpret.

### Step 2: Identify Inherited Assumptions
Categorize each:
- Physics/Math/Logic - Actually fundamental. Cannot decompose further. Keep.
- Convention - "That's how the industry does it." Question.
- Precedent - "We've always done it this way." Question harder.
- Constraint (real) - Regulatory, contractual, physical limits. Keep.
- Constraint (assumed) - Believed immovable but actually flexible. Gold mine.

### Step 3: Reduce to Atomic Truths
What MUST be true regardless of approach? 3-7 axioms. More than 10 means you haven't decomposed far enough.

Format: AXIOM N: [statement] - Because [why this cannot be further reduced]

### Step 4: Rebuild from Axioms
Starting ONLY from axioms, construct a solution. No reference to original approach. For each element: which axiom(s) does it serve, what alternatives exist, why this choice (reason must trace to axioms, not convention).

### Step 5: Compare
Where do rebuilt and original converge? (Original got it right.) Where do they diverge? (Inherited assumptions limiting the solution.) What did the rebuild reveal that incremental thinking never would?

## Rules

- The rebuild must be complete enough to evaluate. Not a hand-wave.
- If first principles arrives at the same answer as convention, that is a valid and useful finding.
- Decomposing without rebuilding is incomplete. The value is in what you build from the pieces.
- Do not question things that are actually fundamental. Databases need to persist data. That is not a convention.