models · First principles
20 min · pencil
★★★
What is a chair really for?
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First principles means asking what something is really for, then building from there.
- List the jobs a chair really does (not what it looks like).
- Forget every chair you have seen.
- Draw something new that does those jobs.
Example: Jobs: hold me up, rest my back, keep me off the floor…
Jobs a chair does
My new design
Grown-up corner
Why it matters: Inventors break ideas down to basic truths, then rebuild. It frees kids from “that’s how it’s always done”.
- Which job is the most important?
- Could your design do a job a chair can’t?
Extend it: Try it with a backpack or a toothbrush.
My brain felt: ☐ easy ☐ just right ☐ stretchy
One thing I learned: ________________________
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