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Metus comments on Open thread, 23-29 June 2014 - Less Wrong Discussion
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"Every problem looks like a nail to a person with only a hammer in his toolbox."
I see this with people not as far in their education as me. Though I noticed a different, but similar phenomenon: Learning of a new method or tool tempts me to use this new toy every time I am faced with a problem. This is a far more benign phenomenon but still, it is there.
Like recently I learned about factor analysis. Now I am tempted to use this to quantify if the plethora of human attributes, including physical and mental health, come down to just a handful of factors that can be influenced independently of each other. Of course I know of OCEAN personality factors and g, all of which are the recult of factor analysis, which only further increases my curiosity.
If all you have is a hammer, then you should be hammering on quite a few things that aren't nails. Heck, I've fixed a propane regulator by whacking it with a hammer. It's just that you should also.. you know.. buy some more tools.
If you're aware of the non-nailness of the thing in question, I don't see any problem with trying out your new tool on it - how else are you to learn its limits!? Using standard tools in a domain where it's not normally applied is often a source of fresh insight.
This is a really cool point. There's a relevant quote about how mathematicians use this technique:
It's from here
Life is like an adventure game. If all you have is a hammer, use your hammer on everything. Once you get a screwdriver, use it on everything, since you already tried the hammer.
Factor analysis and principal components analysis are related but subtly different techniques.
Factor Analysis is a very flawed technique for many circumstances; in particular, "independent" and "not linearly correlated" are wildly different.
So yes, try to be acutely aware that not everything is a nail. Be aware of your hammer's limitations, and what it's effectiveness is based on.
That said, I've been guilty of this too. And certainly, we rely on people pushing their hammers in strange directions; some esoteric new hammering technique for metaphorical screws can open the floodgates of innovation. That said, don't confuse the fact that some people have managed to hone their skills with one tool with that tool being a panacea.