hammers and nails

“To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

Allow me to paraphrase. “To a man with skill in symbolic manipulation, everything looks like a word problem.” Sometimes, and yet, sometimes, “To a man with little skill in handling his emotions, everything looks like a problem about handling his emotions”.

I have this theory that alot of bad fantasy fiction is about the very notion that any goal can be accomplished through symbolic manipulation. And it’s truly an addictive idea. But the truth is that commitment, effort, time, and sacrifice are generally necessary for the real accomplishment. Symbolic manipulation may help, and in some cases, may be necessary, but it ain’t pulling the cart all on it’s own.

And my relationship and work troubles aren’t word problems either. They are emotional problems. And no cleverly phrased dissection of verbage will change that.