---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem that first demands solution…"
description: "\"The problem that first demands solution is to discover the disruptive agent which would be potent enough to rip the Cloghvorra Stone from its parent be..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/robert-stawell-ball-66823_agents_the-problem-that-first-demands-solution_2094689.jpg"
---

#  The problem that first demands solution is to discover the…

![“The problem that first demands solution is to discover the disruptive agent which would be potent enough to rip the Cloghvorra Stone from its parent bed, to bear it down the valley for miles, and to cast it on the mountain side.” quote by Robert Stawell Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/robert-stawell-ball-66823_agents_the-problem-that-first-demands-solution_2094689.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/robert-stawell-ball-66823_agents_the-problem-that-first-demands-solution_2094689.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/robert-stawell-ball-66823_agents_the-problem-that-first-demands-solution_2094689.jpg)

> “The problem that first demands solution is to discover the disruptive agent which would be potent enough to rip the Cloghvorra Stone from its parent bed, to bear it down the valley for miles, and to cast it on the mountain side.”

[Robert Stawell Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stawell-ball/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

To solve a problem, first identify a powerful force capable of moving a massive stone across a valley to a new location.

**In simple terms:** Find a strong force to move a huge stone.

Key Takeaway

Identify the key disruptive agent.

Themes

problem solving engineering strategy

Mood

curious analytical inquisitive

Type

technical strategic

When to use this quote

- construction projects
- geological studies
- large-scale relocation

Key Concepts

force analysis mechanics innovation

Questions to Reflect On

- What alternative methods could achieve the same goal?
- Is the disruptive agent realistic?

A Different Perspective

Finding such a force may be impractical.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Agent Potent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agent-potent-4156423/) [Agents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Casts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casts/) [Cloghvorra Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cloghvorra-stone-4156422/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Demands Solution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demands-solution-4156419/) [Disruptive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disruptive/) [Disruptive Agent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disruptive-agent-4156420/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Miles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miles/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Problem Demands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem-demands-4156421/) [Rip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rip/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Solutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solutions/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Valleys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valleys/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/)

## Related quotes

> [“Identifying disruptive footholds means connecting with specific jobs that people—your future customers—are trying to get done in their lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/identifying-disruptive-footholds-means-connecting-with-specific-jobs/)

[Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/)

> [At the beginning of almost every industry, the available products and services are so expensive to own and complicated to use that only people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/at-the-beginning-of-almost-every-industry-the-available-products-and/)

[Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/)

> [Art is a high calling - fears are coincidental. Coincidental, sneaky and disruptive, we might add, disguising themselves variously as laziness, resistance to deadlines,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bayles/art-is-a-high-calling-fears-are-coincidental-coincidental-sneaky-and/)

[David Bayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bayles/)

> [A body without bones would be a limp impossible mess, so a day without steady routine would be disruptive and chaotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/a-body-without-bones-would-be-a-limp-impossible-mess-so-a-day-without/)

[May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/)

> [For an emerging market that hopes to be the third largest economy in the world, you cannot do it without being innovative and disruptive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-screwvala/for-an-emerging-market-that-hopes-to-be-the-third-largest-economy-in/)

[Ronnie Screwvala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-screwvala/)

> [Human nature being what it is, peace must inevitably be a relative condition. The essence of life is struggle and competition, and to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-perez-de-cuellar/human-nature-being-what-it-is-peace-must-inevitably-be-a-relative/)

[Javier Perez de Cuellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-perez-de-cuellar/)

> [As I have often said, acceptance of the idea of shared mobility is going to be one of the major disruptive trends in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-mahindra/as-i-have-often-said-acceptance-of-the-idea-of-shared-mobility-is/)

[Anand Mahindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-mahindra/)

> [The mistake that makes launching a venture expensive is when you try to make a disruptive technology so good that it can compete on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/the-mistake-that-makes-launching-a-venture-expensive-is-when-you-try/)

[Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/)

> [Cultural institutions by and large share one primary objective: herd control. Even when ostensibly benign, their propensity for manipulation, compartmentalization, standardization and suppression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/cultural-institutions-by-and-large-share-one-primary-objective-herd/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> [Most of us who work as professional futurists never really stop gathering information - you never know when a provocative, potentially disruptive new development…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/most-of-us-who-work-as-professional-futurists-never-really-stop/)

[Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/)

> [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“disruptive technology should be framed as a marketing challenge, not a technological one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-m-christensen/disruptive-technology-should-be-framed-as-a-marketing-challenge-not-a/)

[Clayton M. Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-m-christensen/)

> [What are you going to do when you are not saving the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-zimmer/what-are-you-going-to-do-when-you-are-not-saving-the-world/)

[Hans Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-zimmer/)

> [The mechanical loom and the calculator have shown us that technology is both disruptive and filled with opportunities. But it would be hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-etzioni/the-mechanical-loom-and-the-calculator-have-shown-us-that-technology/)

[Oren Etzioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-etzioni/)

> [The best antidote to the disruptive power of innovation is overregulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/the-best-antidote-to-the-disruptive-power-of-innovation-is/)

[Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/)

## More by Robert Stawell Ball

> [The moons of Uranus seem to have got a twist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stawell-ball/the-moons-of-uranus-seem-to-have-got-a-twist/)

[Robert Stawell Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stawell-ball/)

> [The intrinsic brightness of theSun is fully 5,000 times as great as if the whole surface were formed of the molten steel just issuing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stawell-ball/the-intrinsic-brightness-of-thesun-is-fully-5-000-times-as-great-as/)

[Robert Stawell Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stawell-ball/)

> [Man is a creature adapted for life under circumstances which are very narrowly limited. A few degrees of temperature more or less, a slight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stawell-ball/man-is-a-creature-adapted-for-life-under-circumstances-which-are-very/)

[Robert Stawell Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stawell-ball/)

[Explore all 4 Robert Stawell Ball quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stawell-ball/)

## More Agents quotes

> [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/)

[Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/)

> [ I don't see \[ Trainspotting \] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. It's got me out to Hollywood, I've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-don-t-see-trainspotting-as-an-albatross-i-see-it-more-as-a-calling/)

[Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/)

> [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/)

[Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/)

> [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/)

[Tom Atlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-atlee/)

> [Love is the supreme form of communication. In the hierarchy of needs, love stands as the supreme developing agent of the humanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/love-is-the-supreme-form-of-communication-in-the-hierarchy-of-needs/)

[Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/)

> [I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-always-believed-that-women-are-not-victims-we-are-agents-of/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [Many American TV actors employ agents, managers, business managers, publicists and stylists, and are now adding digital media manager to the list. Their job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-bellman/many-american-tv-actors-employ-agents-managers-business-managers/)

[Gina Bellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-bellman/)

> [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

> [My first job was a film called 'Storm Damage' for the BBC. I was 16 and working with really respected British actors. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-madekwe/my-first-job-was-a-film-called-storm-damage-for-the-bbc-i-was-16-and/)

[Ashley Madekwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-madekwe/)

> [Government is the agent of those who are too refined to do their own mugging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-is-the-agent-of-those-who-are-too-refined-to-do-their-own/)

[Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/)

> [While much of modern behavioral and social science treats individuals as autonomous agents, it is absolutely clear that the way we think and act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-r-nelson/while-much-of-modern-behavioral-and-social-science-treats-individuals/)

[Richard R. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-r-nelson/)

> [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/)

[Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/)

> [The chief beneficiary of life insurance policies for young, single people is the life insurance agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/the-chief-beneficiary-of-life-insurance-policies-for-young-single/)

[Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/)

> [“Honestly,” he says, “I judge writers on how they write queries. If you’re a good writer, you’re a good writer.” And if not, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-gessen/honestly-he-says-i-judge-writers-on-how-they-write-queries-if-you-re/)

[Keith Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-gessen/)

[Browse all 1,567 Agents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The problem that first demands solution is to discover the disruptive agent which would be potent enough to rip the Cloghvorra Stone from its parent bed, to bear it down the valley for miles, and to cast it on the mountain side.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Stawell Ball"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stawell-ball/the-problem-that-first-demands-solution-is-to-discover-the-disruptive/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Agents"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stawell-ball/the-problem-that-first-demands-solution-is-to-discover-the-disruptive/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/robert-stawell-ball-66823_agents_the-problem-that-first-demands-solution_2094689.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/robert-stawell-ball-66823_agents_the-problem-that-first-demands-solution_2094689.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec5/robert-stawell-ball-66823_agents_the-problem-that-first-demands-solution_2094689.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The problem that first demands solution is to discover the disruptive agent which would be potent enough to…” — Robert Stawell Ball",
                "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": "Robert Stawell Ball",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stawell-ball/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The problem that first demands solution...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stawell-ball/the-problem-that-first-demands-solution-is-to-discover-the-disruptive/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stawell-ball/the-problem-that-first-demands-solution-is-to-discover-the-disruptive/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
