The Law of the Instrument

I call it the law of the instrument, and it may be formulated as follows: Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding.

Abraham Kaplan

If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Abraham Maslow

In the context of computer programming, this law suggests that people tend to use tools that are familiar with, rather than the best possible tool. This over-reliance on a familiar tool is an anti-pattern referred to as 'the golden hammer'.