--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must face up to a difficult paradox…" description: "\"We must face up to a difficult paradox: The U.S. can maintain a leading position in science only by giving up its desire to be number one.\" — Priyamvad..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d27/priyamvada-natarajan-13848_desire_we-must-face-up-to-a-difficult-paradox-t_1758869.jpg" --- # We must face up to a difficult paradox: The U.S. can… ![“We must face up to a difficult paradox: The U.S. can maintain a leading position in science only by giving up its desire to be number one.” quote by Priyamvada Natarajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d27/priyamvada-natarajan-13848_desire_we-must-face-up-to-a-difficult-paradox-t_1758869.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d27/priyamvada-natarajan-13848_desire_we-must-face-up-to-a-difficult-paradox-t_1758869.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d27/priyamvada-natarajan-13848_desire_we-must-face-up-to-a-difficult-paradox-t_1758869.jpg) > “We must face up to a difficult paradox: The U.S. can maintain a leading position in science only by giving up its desire to be number one.” [Priyamvada Natarajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyamvada-natarajan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing global scientific leadership with humility requires abandoning competitive obsession. **In simple terms:** Science leadership needs humility, not rivalry. Key Takeaway Embrace collaboration over competition. Themes science policy humility competition leadership Mood reflective strategic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - government planning - international research partnerships - academic institutions Key Concepts global collaboration national ambition research funding Questions to Reflect On - How can a nation stay innovative without a competitive mindset? - What policies foster shared scientific progress? A Different Perspective Collaboration alone may not guarantee a leading position. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Difficult Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-paradox-1675167/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Maintain Leading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maintain-leading-1675169/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Paradox Maintain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox-maintain-1675168/) [Position Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position-science-1675170/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) ## Related quotes > [“Paradox: You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-collins/paradox-you-must-maintain-unwavering-faith-that-you-can-and-will/) [Jim Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-collins/) > [Knowing that a paradox is required for life as we know it to exist allows me to give up trying constantly to understand it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brancatisano/knowing-that-a-paradox-is-required-for-life-as-we-know-it-to-exist/) [Richard Brancatisano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brancatisano/) > [I believe that God locates himself at the spot where you recognize your own fallibility…And the paradox of it all has been that whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-believe-that-god-locates-himself-at-the-spot-where-you-recognize/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Most marriages recognize this paradox: Passion destroys passion; we want what puts an end to wanting what we want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/most-marriages-recognize-this-paradox-passion-destroys-passion-we/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [The best reaction to a paradox is to invent a genuinely new and deep idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/the-best-reaction-to-a-paradox-is-to-invent-a-genuinely-new-and-deep/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [In the hero stories, the call to go on a journey takes the form of a loss, an error, a wound, an unexplainable longing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-richo/in-the-hero-stories-the-call-to-go-on-a-journey-takes-the-form-of-a/) [David Richo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-richo/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I think writing kind of burns out the flaming question. 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The statements I make are wearisome and obvious common sense. I have even been driven to the tedium of reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-never-use-paradox-the-statements-i-make-are-wearisome-and-obvious/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## More by Priyamvada Natarajan > [We cannot explain the phenomenon of gravitational lensing without general relativity, and this is where MOND spectacularly fails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyamvada-natarajan/we-cannot-explain-the-phenomenon-of-gravitational-lensing-without/) [Priyamvada Natarajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyamvada-natarajan/) > [We cannot decide on the efficacy of a medical treatment by counting the number of 'Likes' an intervention receives on Facebook; no matter what,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyamvada-natarajan/we-cannot-decide-on-the-efficacy-of-a-medical-treatment-by-counting/) [Priyamvada Natarajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyamvada-natarajan/) > [Evidence has been mounting for the key role that black holes play in the process of galaxy formation. 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