Extreme Over-Reliance

A line from one of my creativity class's readings on Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences <http://www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences.htm> stuck out to me, "...over-reliance on, or extreme interpretation of, any methodology or tool can be counterproductive."This was in reference to Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences theory, and his categorizing of individuals into seven main intelligence types. I actually found it interesting to see the results of my intelligence test, to discover that I (according to the test) am strongest in my musical ability (musical intelligence) and my perception of other people's feelings (interpersonal intelligence). Not to stray away from thinking about the above quote, which has the potential to be interpreted in countless ways, I can only imagine. I feel like we could all benefit from heeding this warning. Taking anything to an extreme can be unhealthy, mainly in reference to an overly-biased way of thinking, or  a "my way or the highway" mentality. Over-reliance on a specific ideology, religion, personal mantra, or even on words of advice from a trusted source can hinder openness and general worldview. Relying on anything as a be-all, end-all hypothetically slaps on the blinders, leading to a one-track mindset (hence why math is not my area of expertise). This may seem a bit all over the place--maybe my brain is short-circuiting--but I like to think that our innate human ability to question all that is presented to us as "the answer" or what is "right" and what is "wrong" is what keeps us going.