Attribute Substitution

We often tend to substitute what's hard with what's easier.

Asked a hard question? We substitute the question with something that we find easier to answer. It may not answer what the original question is asking, but we do it anyway. Often without even realising what we've just done.

Sounds like a game of never-ending Chinese whispers, doesn't it?

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribute_substitution, https://sketchplanations.com/looking-under-the-lamppost