--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Degree is much: the whole Atlantic might…" description: "\"Degree is much: the whole Atlantic might be lukewarm and never boil us a potato.\" — George Iles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/george-iles-21168_degrees_degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might_1321419.jpg" --- # Degree is much: the whole Atlantic might be lukewarm and… ![“Degree is much: the whole Atlantic might be lukewarm and never boil us a potato.” quote by George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/george-iles-21168_degrees_degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might_1321419.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/george-iles-21168_degrees_degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might_1321419.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/george-iles-21168_degrees_degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might_1321419.jpg) > “Degree is much: the whole Atlantic might be lukewarm and never boil us a potato.” [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He uses a metaphor about a lukewarm Atlantic to suggest that even vast potential can be ineffective without proper heat, i.e., motivation. **In simple terms:** Potential needs activation to be useful. Key Takeaway Ignite motivation to achieve goals. Themes potential motivation inefficiency energy metaphor Mood analytical inspirational critical Type philosophical motivational advice When to use this quote - career development - creative projects - team dynamics Key Concepts latent talent organizational inertia personal ambition Questions to Reflect On - How do you turn potential into results? - What fuels your personal “heat”? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atlantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atlantic/) [Atlantic Lukewarm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atlantic-lukewarm-4404766/) [Degree Atlantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degree-atlantic-4404767/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Lukewarm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lukewarm/) [Lukewarm Boil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lukewarm-boil-4404768/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Potatoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/potatoes/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [Biarritz is one of the most popular holiday destinations in France and it tops the list for coastal resorts along the French Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-drinkwater/biarritz-is-one-of-the-most-popular-holiday-destinations-in-france/) [Carol Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-drinkwater/) > [“The gap between most people’s capacity to conjure beauty from scratch and to merely recognize it when they see it is the width of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-gap-between-most-people-s-capacity-to-conjure-beauty-from-scratch/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [I didn't graduate from college, so I might as well be on Atlantic Records, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sturgill-simpson/i-didn-t-graduate-from-college-so-i-might-as-well-be-on-atlantic/) [Sturgill Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sturgill-simpson/) > [That's the best way to cross the Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-whitten-brown/that-s-the-best-way-to-cross-the-atlantic/) [Arthur Whitten Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-whitten-brown/) > ['Atlantic City' is very good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-capaldi/atlantic-city-is-very-good/) [Peter Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-capaldi/) > [Show Holmes a drop of water and he would deduce the existence of the Atlantic. Show it to me and I would look for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/show-holmes-a-drop-of-water-and-he-would-deduce-the-existence-of-the/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [Even as global warming increases the frequency of El Nino and the Atlantic event, their effects are being amplified by the annual loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/even-as-global-warming-increases-the-frequency-of-el-nino-and-the/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [I like work, I like song writing, and I like the history of Atlantic Records. They've sat in the studio with so many artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gourley/i-like-work-i-like-song-writing-and-i-like-the-history-of-atlantic/) [John Gourley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gourley/) > [The Atlantic conference in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland is a dramatic moment in World War II history because for the first time, Roosevelt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/the-atlantic-conference-in-the-north-atlantic-off-newfoundland-is-a/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [Grounding airplanes to cover your butt would never have let Orville or Wilbur change the world. We would still be spending weeks to cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-bethune/grounding-airplanes-to-cover-your-butt-would-never-have-let-orville/) [Gordon Bethune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-bethune/) > [I loved going to the Knicks because we won the Atlantic Division championship. We went from winning 21 games or 19 games to winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-pitino/i-loved-going-to-the-knicks-because-we-won-the-atlantic-division/) [Rick Pitino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-pitino/) > [There are people who could watch a hurricane like Sandy blow out of the Atlantic every other day and blame it on anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/there-are-people-who-could-watch-a-hurricane-like-sandy-blow-out-of/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [The Atlantic Ocean was something then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-atlantic-ocean-was-something-then/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [As late as the summer of 1941, the Atlantic Monthly, then a still respected magazine for literates and edited by White men, published a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/revilo-p-oliver/as-late-as-the-summer-of-1941-the-atlantic-monthly-then-a-still/) [Revilo P. Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/revilo-p-oliver/) > [I was very much disappointed in the Atlantic Ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-was-very-much-disappointed-in-the-atlantic-ocean/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More by George Iles > [Nothing cools so fast as undue enthusiasm. Water that has boiled freezes sooner than any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/nothing-cools-so-fast-as-undue-enthusiasm-water-that-has-boiled/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [Discovery begins by finding the discoverer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/discovery-begins-by-finding-the-discoverer/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [They will listen with both ears to what is said by the men just a step or two ahead of them, who stand nearest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/they-will-listen-with-both-ears-to-what-is-said-by-the-men-just-a/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [Is any knowledge worthless? Try to think of an example.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/is-any-knowledge-worthless-try-to-think-of-an-example/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [We despair of changing the habits of men, still we would alter institutions, the habits of millions of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/we-despair-of-changing-the-habits-of-men-still-we-would-alter/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [Evolution pays and that is why there is evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/evolution-pays-and-that-is-why-there-is-evolution/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [A calculating engine is one of the most intricate forms of mechanism, a telegraph key one of the simplest. But compare their value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/a-calculating-engine-is-one-of-the-most-intricate-forms-of-mechanism/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [“Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/hope-is-faith-holding-out-its-hand-in-the-dark/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [When we try to imagine a chaos we fail. ... In its very fiber the mind is an order and refuses to build a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/when-we-try-to-imagine-a-chaos-we-fail-in-its-very-fiber-the-mind-is/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [Ignorance may find a truth on its doorstep that erudition vainly seeks in the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/ignorance-may-find-a-truth-on-its-doorstep-that-erudition-vainly/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [No gun is perfectly true. So the marksman, that he may hit the bull's-eye, points elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/no-gun-is-perfectly-true-so-the-marksman-that-he-may-hit-the-bull-s/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [Error held as truth has much the effect of truth. In politics and religion this fact upsets many confident predictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/error-held-as-truth-has-much-the-effect-of-truth-in-politics-and/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [Ten builders rear an arch, each in turn lifting it higher; but it is the tenth man, who drops in the keystone, who hears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/ten-builders-rear-an-arch-each-in-turn-lifting-it-higher-but-it-is/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [Nature is full of by-ends. A moth feeds on a petal, in a moment the pollen caught on its breast will be wedding this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/nature-is-full-of-by-ends-a-moth-feeds-on-a-petal-in-a-moment-the/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) > [Doubt is the beginning, not the end, of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/doubt-is-the-beginning-not-the-end-of-wisdom/) [George Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) [Explore all 29 George Iles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/) ## More Atlantic quotes > [Biarritz is one of the most popular holiday destinations in France and it tops the list for coastal resorts along the French Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-drinkwater/biarritz-is-one-of-the-most-popular-holiday-destinations-in-france/) [Carol Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-drinkwater/) > [As late as the summer of 1941, the Atlantic Monthly, then a still respected magazine for literates and edited by White men, published a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/revilo-p-oliver/as-late-as-the-summer-of-1941-the-atlantic-monthly-then-a-still/) [Revilo P. Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/revilo-p-oliver/) > [The Atlantic Ocean was something then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-atlantic-ocean-was-something-then/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [There are people who could watch a hurricane like Sandy blow out of the Atlantic every other day and blame it on anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/there-are-people-who-could-watch-a-hurricane-like-sandy-blow-out-of/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [I loved going to the Knicks because we won the Atlantic Division championship. We went from winning 21 games or 19 games to winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-pitino/i-loved-going-to-the-knicks-because-we-won-the-atlantic-division/) [Rick Pitino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-pitino/) > [Grounding airplanes to cover your butt would never have let Orville or Wilbur change the world. We would still be spending weeks to cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-bethune/grounding-airplanes-to-cover-your-butt-would-never-have-let-orville/) [Gordon Bethune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-bethune/) > [The Atlantic conference in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland is a dramatic moment in World War II history because for the first time, Roosevelt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/the-atlantic-conference-in-the-north-atlantic-off-newfoundland-is-a/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [I like work, I like song writing, and I like the history of Atlantic Records. They've sat in the studio with so many artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gourley/i-like-work-i-like-song-writing-and-i-like-the-history-of-atlantic/) [John Gourley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gourley/) > [Even as global warming increases the frequency of El Nino and the Atlantic event, their effects are being amplified by the annual loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/even-as-global-warming-increases-the-frequency-of-el-nino-and-the/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [Show Holmes a drop of water and he would deduce the existence of the Atlantic. Show it to me and I would look for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/show-holmes-a-drop-of-water-and-he-would-deduce-the-existence-of-the/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > ['Atlantic City' is very good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-capaldi/atlantic-city-is-very-good/) [Peter Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-capaldi/) > [That's the best way to cross the Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-whitten-brown/that-s-the-best-way-to-cross-the-atlantic/) [Arthur Whitten Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-whitten-brown/) > [I didn't graduate from college, so I might as well be on Atlantic Records, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sturgill-simpson/i-didn-t-graduate-from-college-so-i-might-as-well-be-on-atlantic/) [Sturgill Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sturgill-simpson/) > [“The gap between most people’s capacity to conjure beauty from scratch and to merely recognize it when they see it is the width of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-gap-between-most-people-s-capacity-to-conjure-beauty-from-scratch/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [I was very much disappointed in the Atlantic Ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-was-very-much-disappointed-in-the-atlantic-ocean/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Browse all 94 Atlantic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atlantic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Degree is much: the whole Atlantic might be lukewarm and never boil us a potato.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Iles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might-be-lukewarm-and-never-boil-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atlantic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might-be-lukewarm-and-never-boil-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/george-iles-21168_degrees_degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might_1321419.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/george-iles-21168_degrees_degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might_1321419.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b90/george-iles-21168_degrees_degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might_1321419.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Degree is much: the whole Atlantic might be lukewarm and never boil us a potato.” — George Iles", "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": "George Iles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-iles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Degree is much: the whole Atlantic...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might-be-lukewarm-and-never-boil-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-iles/degree-is-much-the-whole-atlantic-might-be-lukewarm-and-never-boil-us/#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 } } ] } ```