Elon Musk: Study Physics—It’s the Best Way to Understand Reality and Solve Hard Problems

Elon Musk: I strongly recommend studying physics as a grounding to understand reality.

“I studied physics, and I certainly strongly recommend physics as a good grounding to understand the nature of reality.

Physics is fundamentally just understanding how the universe actually works. That's a good foundation for a variety of engineering disciplines.

The analytical constructs used in physics [like first-principles thinking] apply to basically anything.

Most people tend to think by analogy or by comparison with something that already exists. This is a mental shortcut that requires less brain strain, but it's hard to get fundamental insights unless you think about things from a first-principles standpoint.”

Axel Springer Award, December 1, 2020