The Golden hammer reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Golden hammer

The term Golden hammer refers to a tool, technology, paradigm, snake oil, buzzword or similar. Proponents of such a golden hammer 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 an infant 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.

Compare silver bullet, proselyte

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)

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