I wonder how much of this conceptual change throughout the history is driven by the generational cycle. How much of conceptual change is actually driven by people rethinking their ways vs them just being pushed out by the new generation coming in with a fresh perspective.

Yes, but in my understanding what first principles come down to is just deconstructing known assumptions and going back in reasoning chain in effort to gain new insights and connections. Basically, reassessing assumptions within one’s conceptual framework.

Interesting - so it’s essentially about solving problems by reframing them and rethinking from first principles? That sounds logical, but I suppose the hard part is turning it into a practical discipline rather than just hindsight.