Golden hammer - Definition and Overview

A golden hammer is any tool, technology, paradigm, snake oil, buzzword or similar whose proponents enthusiastically sing its praises, predicting that it will solve multiple problems, including some obviously not amenable to the proposed solution.

The name evokes the mental image of a child who has obtained its first hammer and a few nails. Hammering nails provides lots of fun, and when the nails run out, everything starts to look like nails.

The antonym term for golden hammer is "using the right tool for the job".

See also

• Greedy reductionism
• Proselyte
• Silver bullet
• Universal panacea

Examples

• Programming paradigms: "by programming everything using the paradigm X, all problems will be solved by themselves"
• Ideologies: "by applying the particular ideology X in all instances of societal organization, all social problems will solve themselves"
• Products: "our product will solve all your problems!" (see Snake oil)