Law of the Instrument

Last updated Feb 9, 2023

• Law

If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail.

• Abraham Maslow, 1966

Also known as: Maslow’s Hammer.

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.

• Abraham Kaplan, 1964

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_instrument