Functional fixedness[1] is the tendency to bind tool to problem, so that you can no longer see beyond the tool or the problem.
It's an especially big problem in design[2], where a particular approach seems so perfectly suited for a problem that you don't bother looking for alternative approaches.
Want to have some way for people to talk with each other on your social media[3] platform? Add a comment section. The task seems perfectly fitted for the tool, and the tool for the task. The problem is that we can no longer see that there are potentially many more ways facilitating conversation outside of attaching comments to content. We're functionally fixed.
Last updated Wed Oct 13 2021 in Berkeley, CA
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_fixedness
3: /thought/better-social-media.gmi