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Explained from First Principles is an independent technology, science, and philosophy blog by Kaspar Etter, who lives in Zurich, Switzerland. It is not a news site or course platform, but rather a content site focused on “knowledge notes” and in-depth explanations, aiming to explain complex topics clearly from first principles. The main articles currently shown include The Internet, Email, Number theory, and more, making it especially suitable for readers who want to truly understand protocols, networking, and the fundamentals of cryptography.
The site’s biggest strength is its long-form, highly information-dense, and well-structured explanations. Articles come with an automatic table of contents, highlighted sections, copyable section links, hover explanations for abbreviations, expandable information boxes, light and dark modes, PDF downloads, PNG/SVG chart exports, and some interactive tools. The author also emphasizes source transparency, citing external materials and trying to ensure readers do not have to blindly trust the author’s conclusions. Its treatment of technical concepts is systematic—for example, explaining the Internet step by step from communication protocols, network topology, routing, and layered models.
The content is free to read and licensed under CC BY 4.0, allowing reuse with attribution. The site does not show a paywall or subscription-based business model. Its operation mainly relies on reader donations, with support for GitHub, Liberapay, Patreon, PayPal, bank transfers, and Bitcoin.
The advantages are that the explanations are extremely deep and well suited to building foundational mental models; the reading experience is heavily optimized for long-form content; there are no ads or registration walls, and for privacy it uses Plausible Analytics without cookies. The drawbacks are also clear: the number of articles is limited, updates are infrequent, individual pieces are very long and not ideal for fragmented reading, the site is primarily in English, which may pose a barrier for Chinese users, and the author also states clearly that he is not an expert in every field, so the content includes personal judgment.
It is suitable for developers, computer science students, technical writers, learners of network protocols, beginners in cryptography, and readers who prefer systematic understanding over simply reading conclusions. It is less suitable for people who just want to quickly look up an API, find short tutorials, or need Chinese-language courses.
The site is hosted on GitHub Pages and uses Plausible Analytics. The main content does not appear to require login or rely on heavy third-party services, so it can usually be accessed directly. However, GitHub Pages can occasionally be unstable under different network environments in mainland China. If page resources fail to load properly, try switching networks.
⚠ This review is compiled from public sources and does not constitute a purchase recommendation. Verify all facts on the vendor's official site. Verify on explained-from-first-principles.com official site.
explained-from-first-principles.com is an Unknown content_blog provider. TG4G tracks its product information, an overall rating of 8.0/10, and a China-accessibility score of China direct-connect friendly. Click "Visit Official Site" to reach explained-from-first-principles.com directly.