1st Principles

Learn technical systems from first principles.

Each page connects prerequisites, mechanisms, examples, and failure cases. Start with how the internet works.

Example from a real page

Each concept page uses the same structure. This example is from Packets. It shows one mental model and one misconception.

From Packets

Postal letters

Each letter has an address and a body. The postal system moves letters, not whole novels as one inseparable object. If one letter is lost, you resend that letter.

Myth

Packets guarantee delivery.

Reality

IP packets are best-effort. Reliability, if needed, is built above them (for example TCP or QUIC) or by the application itself.

Read the full Packets page

How every page is built

Each page uses progressive depth. Start with axioms. Then read intuition, formal shape, and edge cases.

  1. 01

    Axioms & primitives

    State why the idea exists. List the basic parts it uses.

  2. 02

    Intuition

    Give a clear picture before the formal definition.

  3. 03

    Formal shape

    Define the mechanisms with precise terms.

  4. 04

    Edge cases

    Show where the model fails or behaves in an unexpected way.

This is v0.1

This site is public while it grows. Version 0.1 covers internet fundamentals from packets to browsers. It also includes basic learning methods. More subjects will follow. The content will change over time.

Published concepts
27
Learning paths
2
Niches with content
5

Choose a starting point

Follow the internet path in order. Or open the index and select a topic.