Hammer and nail syndrome

I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.
-Abraham Maslow

We tend to try and solve our problems with the tools we have at hand. If the only tool available is a hammer every problem looks like a nail. Stranded on a deserted island with only a hammer i’m pretty sure you could use it to open a coconut. But what if you also had a machete? Acquiring new tools gives you more options. They offer new ways of solving old problems.

Additionally, the machete can be used to cut lengths of wood to make a raft. New tools also offer solutions to problems that were previously unsolvable.

Where do new tools come from? We make them. (sometimes you can copy tools from other people who have already made them). We make new tools by solving problems using our existing tools. On the deserted island opening a coconut offers a solution to the food shortage. A solved problem becomes a tool we can use to solve other problems.

More tools -> more options.

More options -> More solutions

More solutions -> more tools

Ad infintum.

Similarly, we tend to think about things in terms of what we already understand. By acquiring new ways to think we open our selves up to understanding and making sense of the world in ways that were not previously available.

What’s in your mental toolkit?