Known as "law of the instrument" or "law of the hammer," this cognitive bias is perhaps most familiar as a quip, one usually attributed to Abraham Maslow (yes, he of the hierarchy of needs): If the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail. … Continue reading On the law of the instrument
Tag: how to think
Can you have a great idea at your desk?
No one ever had a great idea at a desk. —Margaret Heffernan While I love Heffernan's absolutism—and am tempted to write this on a Post-It and stick it on my desk—I instinctively push back against this idea that desks are dead ends for great ideas. There's nothing wrong with Heffernan's direction: we should get up … Continue reading Can you have a great idea at your desk?
Being aware of metaphors that we live by
A few months ago, I skim-read Metaphors We Live By, by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, a fairly academic treatise on the use of conceptual metaphor in language, a book regarded as seminal in the field of metaphor studies (it's a thing!) and in the more broader field of cognitive linguistics: . This short but … Continue reading Being aware of metaphors that we live by
Taylor Coe 