# Derive First Principles

> Strip convention to irreducible truths and rebuild

- Skill: `synapseradio/derive-first-principles` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add synapseradio/derive-first-principles`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/synapseradio/derive-first-principles/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: synapseradio (https://skillmd.com/u/synapseradio)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/synapseradio/derive-first-principles

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Find or reverse engineer first principles from context.

Follow these steps:

### 1. Identify the convention

Identify a current belief and its conventional approach from the context of your task and the user's request.

### 2. Question every component

Is each a fundamental truth, or an assumption from convention, analogy, or authority?

### 3. Keep what survives

Keep only what survives the questioning.

### 4. Reason up

Given only the surviving fundamentals, what follows?

### 5. Compare with convention

Identify which constraints are real and which are inherited.

### 6. Open new possibilities

Ask what new possibilities open when inherited constraints are removed.