--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What will maintain the pinnacle position…" description: "\"“What will maintain the pinnacle position of our nation in the world: the ability to shoot a 25-foot jump shot, or the ability to solve a quadratic equ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2f/ben-carson-3320_mathematics_what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position_3026700.jpg" --- # What will maintain the pinnacle position of our nation in… ![“What will maintain the pinnacle position of our nation in the world: the ability to shoot a 25-foot jump shot, or the ability to solve a quadratic equation?” quote by Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2f/ben-carson-3320_mathematics_what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position_3026700.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2f/ben-carson-3320_mathematics_what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position_3026700.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2f/ben-carson-3320_mathematics_what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position_3026700.jpg) > ““What will maintain the pinnacle position of our nation in the world: the ability to shoot a 25-foot jump shot, or the ability to solve a quadratic equation?”” [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He contrasts athletic skill with academic ability as measures of national greatness. **In simple terms:** Physical vs mental skill for national success. Key Takeaway Balance education and sports. Themes education competition national identity Mood thoughtful analytical Type political inspirational When to use this quote - policy debate - education reform - sports programs Key Concepts skill assessment cognitive ability Questions to Reflect On - How can we value both intellect and athletics? - What policies promote balanced development? A Different Perspective Physical skill alone cannot sustain global leadership. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Quadratic equation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quadratic-equation/) ## Related quotes > [...the science of calculation also is indispensable as far as the extraction of the square and cube roots: Algebra as far as the quadratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-science-of-calculation-also-is-indispensable-as-far-as-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [ There's a lot of science in it, and as Slartibartfast \[in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy\] said: 'I am a great fan of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-s-a-lot-of-science-in-it-and-as-slartibartfast-in-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Not a lot of people know this, but I'm very good at mathematics. 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This is also a good way to keep people at one another’s throats constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/to-do-only-if-you-don-t-have-a-good-argument-this-is-also-a-good-way/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Our founding fathers placed so much emphasis on nurturing a well-educated populace because they knew that our system of democracy could not long survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/our-founding-fathers-placed-so-much-emphasis-on-nurturing-a-well/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“If mediocrity becomes the norm, the quantity of outstanding producers will decline, as will general prosperity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/if-mediocrity-becomes-the-norm-the-quantity-of-outstanding-producers/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“If we are ever going to have adequate funding for health care and other major line items in our budget, however, we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/if-we-are-ever-going-to-have-adequate-funding-for-health-care-and/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“capitalism is an economic system in which individuals or corporate groups have the right to make private decisions and to acquire private property and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/capitalism-is-an-economic-system-in-which-individuals-or-corporate/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“A gigantic, bloated government has to keep itself busy in order to justify its existence; hence, you have more regulations and meddling in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/a-gigantic-bloated-government-has-to-keep-itself-busy-in-order-to/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Everyone should realize that today the average person lives to be about eighty years of age, the first twenty to twenty-five of which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/everyone-should-realize-that-today-the-average-person-lives-to-be/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“One of America’s most respected legacies is indeed that of rebelling for change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/one-of-america-s-most-respected-legacies-is-indeed-that-of-rebelling/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“The real question is, will we as Americans, accustomed to freedom, continue to sheepishly submit to the purveyors of political correctness without recognizing its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/the-real-question-is-will-we-as-americans-accustomed-to-freedom/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Many well-meaning Americans have bought into the PC speech code, thinking that by being extra careful not to offend anyone we will achieve unity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/many-well-meaning-americans-have-bought-into-the-pc-speech-code/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Many in Europe saw an opportunity to escape the oppressive and overbearing governmental systems under which they languished, and these people emigrated in droves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/many-in-europe-saw-an-opportunity-to-escape-the-oppressive-and/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“As long as you have broad representation from many parts of society, representative government works extremely well. And it works even better when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/as-long-as-you-have-broad-representation-from-many-parts-of-society/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“The Constitution is quite clear that the government has the right to tax in order to support its programs, but there is nothing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/the-constitution-is-quite-clear-that-the-government-has-the-right-to/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Proverbs 11:9: Evil words destroy one’s friends; wise discernment rescues the godly. 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If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [In school math and science were my favorite subjects, but I probably in my true self I'm more of a people person. At the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/in-school-math-and-science-were-my-favorite-subjects-but-i-probably/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [“How in the world did I ever find you?” Mackenzie Winters “Math class.” Brandon Knight”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-jeanisse/how-in-the-world-did-i-ever-find-you-mackenzie-winters-math-class/) [Bella Jeanisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-jeanisse/) > [“One is the notion that knowledge is worth acquiring, all knowledge, and that a solid grounding in mathematics provides one with the essential language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-patterson-jr/one-is-the-notion-that-knowledge-is-worth-acquiring-all-knowledge-and/) [William H. 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Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-j-adler/) [Browse all 5,382 Mathematics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What will maintain the pinnacle position of our nation in the world: the ability to shoot a 25-foot jump shot, or the ability to solve a quadratic equation?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Carson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position-of-our-nation-in-the-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mathematics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position-of-our-nation-in-the-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2f/ben-carson-3320_mathematics_what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position_3026700.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2f/ben-carson-3320_mathematics_what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position_3026700.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2f/ben-carson-3320_mathematics_what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position_3026700.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What will maintain the pinnacle position of our nation in the world: the ability to shoot a 25-foot jump…” — Ben Carson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ben Carson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What will maintain the pinnacle position...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position-of-our-nation-in-the-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/what-will-maintain-the-pinnacle-position-of-our-nation-in-the-world/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```