Ideas are tools, not absolute truths.

from Useful, Not True, by Derek Sivers

Imagine two carpenters hired to fix a staircase.

The first, a pragmatist, immediately grabs a measuring tape, a saw, and a chisel from his toolbox. Then, he gets to work.

The second carpenter, a theorist, spends his time pondering the perfect, all-in-one tool. He muses, "It is a heavy level, with a built-in blade, ruler, and saw, and powerful LED lights,