The discussion centers on whether rolling a stone requires less work than lifting it, particularly when rolling on a smooth incline. It is established that the work done against gravity remains the same in both scenarios. However, the work involved in accelerating the stone differs, as lifting requires upward acceleration without rolling. Despite these differences, it is concluded that if the stone starts and ends at rest, the total work done in both cases should be identical, as any initial acceleration differences are compensated by deceleration at the end. Thus, the overall work done is effectively the same.
