The Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance (1966), Ch. 2, p. 15; although some similar statements to describe fundamental errors in human perception have been attributed to others, his expression, or slight paraphrases of it, is one of the earliest yet found to be documented in published writings, and remains among the most popular.
“
I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.
• Variant: To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.
— Abraham Maslow
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.
• Variant: To the man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail." in the context of "The Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance (1966), Ch. 2, p. 15; although some similar statements to describe fundamental errors in human perception have been attributed to others, his expression, or slight paraphrases of it, is one of the earliest yet found to be documented in published writings, and remains among the most popular." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Abraham Maslow" (Quotes, 1940s-1960s)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who pioneered humanistic psychology and developed ideas related to a hierarchy of needs.
About Abraham Maslow
Abraham Harold Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist who pioneered humanistic psychology and developed ideas related to a hierarchy of needs.
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