--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like the small boy who was given a hammer…" description: "\"“Like the small boy who was given a hammer for his birthday and decided that everything in the world needed hammering, or like the proponents of modern..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/john-michael-greer-28078_human-experience_like-the-small-boy-who-was-given-a-hamme_2667553.jpg" --- # Like the small boy who was given a hammer for his birthday… ![“Like the small boy who was given a hammer for his birthday and decided that everything in the world needed hammering, or like the proponents of modern science who try to fit all human experience to a model developed to make sense of physics, it’s all too easy to mistake a metaphors usefulness in…” quote by John Michael Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/john-michael-greer-28078_human-experience_like-the-small-boy-who-was-given-a-hamme_2667553.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/john-michael-greer-28078_human-experience_like-the-small-boy-who-was-given-a-hamme_2667553.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/john-michael-greer-28078_human-experience_like-the-small-boy-who-was-given-a-hamme_2667553.jpg) > ““Like the small boy who was given a hammer for his birthday and decided that everything in the world needed hammering, or like the proponents of modern science who try to fit all human experience to a model developed to make sense of physics, it’s all too easy to mistake a metaphors usefulness in one area for evidence that the metaphor should be applied everywhere—or, worse yet, for proof that the metaphor is somehow “true.” Just as with the boy—or the scientists—the result of this sort of approach is usually a mess.”” [John Michael Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-greer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns against overextending a metaphor beyond its useful domain, leading to misunderstanding and chaos. **In simple terms:** Don’t apply a metaphor everywhere. Key Takeaway Check limits of analogies. Themes critical thinking science communication Mood cautious analytical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - policy making - every Key Concepts metaphor misuse epistemology Questions to Reflect On - What limits should you set for a metaphor? - When does a model become a hindrance? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evidence Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence-metaphor-2477117/) [Human experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/) [Metaphor Applied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor-applied-2477116/) [Metaphor True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor-true-2477118/) [Metaphors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphors/) [Metaphors Usefulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphors-usefulness-2477115/) [Mistake Metaphors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-metaphors-2477114/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Too easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-easy/) ## Related quotes > [“The beauty of a metaphor is it doesn't have to be real to ring true. 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In the metaphors of ordinary speech and in the stricter language of science, we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/heart-and-brain-are-the-two-lords-of-life-in-the-metaphors-of/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [“Sure, zombies can “be a metaphor.” They can represent the oppressed, as in Land of the Dead, or humanity’s feral nature, as in 28…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/sure-zombies-can-be-a-metaphor-they-can-represent-the-oppressed-as-in/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [Time, space, and causality are only metaphors of knowledge, with which we explain things to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/time-space-and-causality-are-only-metaphors-of-knowledge-with-which/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Cheating is like eating fast food. You do it, you enjoy it, and then you end up feeling like shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/cheating-is-like-eating-fast-food-you-do-it-you-enjoy-it-and-then-you/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The cure for mixed metaphors, I have always found, is for the patient to be obliged to draw a picture of the result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-levin/the-cure-for-mixed-metaphors-i-have-always-found-is-for-the-patient/) [Bernard Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-levin/) > [May your spirit soar throughout the vast cathedral of your being. May your mind whirl joyful cartwheels of creativity. may your heart sing sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lockwood-huie/may-your-spirit-soar-throughout-the-vast-cathedral-of-your-being-may/) [Jonathan Lockwood Huie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lockwood-huie/) > [Because you continue to inhabit and believe your metaphors, you cannot see what is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/because-you-continue-to-inhabit-and-believe-your-metaphors-you-cannot/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [“No algorithm exists for the metaphor, nor can a metaphor be produced by means of a computer’s precise instructions, no matter what the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/no-algorithm-exists-for-the-metaphor-nor-can-a-metaphor-be-produced/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More by John Michael Greer > [“There are two common and complementary mistakes, which have been made over and over again concerning spirits by people in the Western world. 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Scientism, by contrast, is the worldview and value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-greer/science-at-its-core-is-simply-a-method-of-practical-logic-that-tests/) [John Michael Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-greer/) > [“What tends to be forgotten, amid all the cheerleading for today’s technology, is that people in ancient times might have lacked our current theoretical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-greer/what-tends-to-be-forgotten-amid-all-the-cheerleading-for-today-s/) [John Michael Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-greer/) > [“Hardin, Garrett, Filters Against Folly (New York: Penguin, 1985).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-greer/hardin-garrett-filters-against-folly-new-york-penguin-1985/) [John Michael Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-greer/) > [It's still popular to ... insist that globalization is a rising tide that lifts all boats, but the hard reality is that the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-greer/it-s-still-popular-to-insist-that-globalization-is-a-rising-tide-that/) [John Michael Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-greer/) > [One the one hand, our economists treat human beings as rational actors making choices to maximize their own economic benefit. On the other hand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-greer/one-the-one-hand-our-economists-treat-human-beings-as-rational-actors/) [John Michael Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-greer/) > [Between the poor and any appreciation for modern science stands a wall made of failed schools, defunded libraries, denied opportunities, and the systematic use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-greer/between-the-poor-and-any-appreciation-for-modern-science-stands-a/) [John Michael Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-greer/) [Explore all 20 John Michael Greer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-greer/) ## More Human experience quotes > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) > [“Naval officers were not mother's sort; very few people were her sort in those days, and that was her trouble - a very authentic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/naval-officers-were-not-mother-s-sort-very-few-people-were-her-sort/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [“There is no one way of seeing. Nor is there a right way of seeing. Yet simply to accept the notion that both the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-lasalle/there-is-no-one-way-of-seeing-nor-is-there-a-right-way-of-seeing-yet/) [Mick LaSalle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-lasalle/) > [“Strangers when you meet, strangers when you part -a gymnasium of bodies namelessly masturbating each other. People with no morals often considered themselves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/strangers-when-you-meet-strangers-when-you-part-a-gymnasium-of-bodies/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [There is no normal. I've never met a normal person. The concept is flawed. It implies that there is only one way people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/there-is-no-normal-i-ve-never-met-a-normal-person-the-concept-is/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [“know that I’m not a human being having a spiritual experience. I’m a spiritual being having a human experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/know-that-i-m-not-a-human-being-having-a-spiritual-experience-i-m-a/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) > [I think it's something to do with the nurturing side of the psyche; tying up a sunflower or whatever and helping it grow, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lycett/i-think-it-s-something-to-do-with-the-nurturing-side-of-the-psyche/) [Joe Lycett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lycett/) > [Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/learn-your-way-around-loneliness-make-a-map-of-it-sit-with-it-for/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [The whole idea of the pursuit of goods and possessions has completely corrupted the human experience, along with religion, which I think limits the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/the-whole-idea-of-the-pursuit-of-goods-and-possessions-has-completely/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“The key to this translation of ideology to politics in both cases was an effective appeal to human experience at the crucial time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-key-to-this-translation-of-ideology-to-politics-in-both-cases-was/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [As the young spend less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow, physiologically and psychologically and this reduces the richness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/as-the-young-spend-less-of-their-lives-in-natural-surroundings-their/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [“Lightly, caressingly, Marie Antoinette picked up the crown as a gift. 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