First principles thinking applied to systems reveals something that surface-level analysis consistently misses: what looks like an individual problem is often a systemic one, and vice versa. When a school has low attendance, it looks like a student motivation problem. But a first principles analysis might reveal it is a school safety problem, a transport problem, a food security problem, or a teacher quality problem — each of which requires a completely different response. Systems thinking adds another layer: understanding how the parts of a system interact and reinforce each other. Intervening at the wrong leverage point — even with a technically correct solution — often produces no change or makes things worse. First principles thinking tells you what is true. Systems thinking tells you where to push.