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Golden hammer
 
 
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A golden hammer is any tool
Tool

A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
, technology
Technology

Technology is a broad concept that deals with an animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects an animal species' ability to control and adapt to its Natural environment....
, paradigm
Paradigm

The word paradigm has been used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts.To the 1960s, the word was specific to grammar: the 1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable....
, snake oil
Snake oil

Snake oil is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat joint pain. However, the most common usage of the phrase is as a derogatory term for compounds offered as medicines which implies that they are fake, fraudulent, quackery, or ineffective....
 or similar whose proponents enthusiastically sing its praises. They predict that it will solve multiple problems, including some for which it is obviously not suitable. Likewise, a literal golden hammer would look highly impressive but would be no better (and quite possibly worse) than a hammer made of cheaper materials.

Also called the law of the instrument.

sentiment (that people look for cure-alls) is likely traditional; see panacea
Panacea (medicine)

The panacea , named after the Greek goddess of healing, Panacea , was supposed to be a remedy that would cure all diseases and Immortality. It was sought by the alchemy as a connection to the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone, a mythical substance which would enable the transmutation of common metals into gold....
.

In modern philosophy and psychology, phrased by Abraham Kaplan
Abraham Kaplan

Abraham Kaplan was an American philosopher. Kaplan's parents were Joseph J. and Chava Kaplan. Abraham's father was a Rabbi. He was raised in Odessa, Ukraine....
, , 1964, page 28:
I call it the law of the instrument, and it may be formulated as follows: Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.


Popularly phrased as "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" and variants thereof.






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Encyclopedia


A golden hammer is any tool
Tool

A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
, technology
Technology

Technology is a broad concept that deals with an animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects an animal species' ability to control and adapt to its Natural environment....
, paradigm
Paradigm

The word paradigm has been used in linguistics and science to describe distinct concepts.To the 1960s, the word was specific to grammar: the 1900 Merriam-Webster dictionary defines its technical use only in the context of grammar or, in rhetoric, as a term for an illustrative parable or fable....
, snake oil
Snake oil

Snake oil is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat joint pain. However, the most common usage of the phrase is as a derogatory term for compounds offered as medicines which implies that they are fake, fraudulent, quackery, or ineffective....
 or similar whose proponents enthusiastically sing its praises. They predict that it will solve multiple problems, including some for which it is obviously not suitable. Likewise, a literal golden hammer would look highly impressive but would be no better (and quite possibly worse) than a hammer made of cheaper materials.

Also called the law of the instrument.

History

The sentiment (that people look for cure-alls) is likely traditional; see panacea
Panacea (medicine)

The panacea , named after the Greek goddess of healing, Panacea , was supposed to be a remedy that would cure all diseases and Immortality. It was sought by the alchemy as a connection to the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone, a mythical substance which would enable the transmutation of common metals into gold....
.

In modern philosophy and psychology, phrased by Abraham Kaplan
Abraham Kaplan

Abraham Kaplan was an American philosopher. Kaplan's parents were Joseph J. and Chava Kaplan. Abraham's father was a Rabbi. He was raised in Odessa, Ukraine....
, , 1964, page 28:
I call it the law of the instrument, and it may be formulated as follows: Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.


Popularly phrased as "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" and variants thereof. This form is perhaps due to Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow

Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychology. He is noted for his conceptualization of a "Maslow's hierarchy of needs", and is considered the father of humanistic psychology....
, The Psychology of Science, 1966, :
I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.


Also attributed to Bernard Baruch
Bernard Baruch

Bernard Mannes Baruch was an American financier, stock market speculator, statesman, and presidential advisor. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising Democratic presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D....
, Michael Polanyi
Michael Polanyi

Michael Polanyi, Fellow of the Royal Society was a Hungary?United Kingdom polymath whose thought and work extended across physical chemistry, economics, and philosophy....
. and Mark Twain
Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an United Statesmerican author and humorist. Twain is most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which has since been called the Great American Novel, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer....
.

In this form, more specifically means: once you have a tool that works for one task, you want to use it for everything just because it's available, and because you have already developed the skills to use it; this was also Kaplan's sense.

Alternatives

The opposite of using a golden hammer would be using the "right tool for the job".

See also

  • Panacea
    Panacea (medicine)

    The panacea , named after the Greek goddess of healing, Panacea , was supposed to be a remedy that would cure all diseases and Immortality. It was sought by the alchemy as a connection to the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone, a mythical substance which would enable the transmutation of common metals into gold....
  • Silver bullet
    Silver bullet

    The metaphor of the silver bullet applies to any wikt:straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness. The phrase typically appears with an expectation that some new technology or practice will easily cure a major prevailing problem....