David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell

David and Goliath: Underdogs, misfits, and the art of battling giants by Malcolm Gladwell is a book that was on an anti-racist list (Dr. Clint Smith on Pod Save The People) provided in response to the George Floyd protests.

Started: 6/16/2020

Completed: 6/17/2020

Recommendation: Mild Recommendation

Recommended By: Dr. Clint Smith

Review:

Parts of Gladwell's take on the David and Goliath story were new to me.  He mentions the type of javelin as being something that was huge, but could be thrown a long distance given the straps on it.  I did a little research and this is true.  The rest of Gladwell's argument, however, is centered on the idea that Goliath really couldn't see very well and anticipated hand-to-hand combat (which is consistent with other things I have read).  Assuming that is the case, however, why would Goliath bring a weapon meant to be used at a distance?  He actually had two distance weapons (a type of spear made to be thrown and a javelin) so none of this really makes any sense.  It is OK, though.  The meat of the argument holds--David won because he did not play by Goliath's rules.

It feels like the conclusion of the book is that serious adversity uniquely primes individuals to resist.  In a sense, this forwards the broad statement that "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."  I have to admit, I think that "what doesn't kill you isn't done yet."  This difference of opinion does not put us in opposition, but it doesn't really lead us to the same conclusion.  It feels like Gladwell wants to say that we need individuals who have faced serious adversity in order to improve society.  I want to say we need a society free of serious adversity.

David didn't choose to confront Goliath because he had a history of serious adversity.  Who knows what his motives were, but I imagine he felt he was smarter than Goliath and that the loss of one shepherd boy was not really a great price for the Israeli people if he failed.  Or, maybe, this is just another story kind of like Washington "not telling a lie" that gets made up about famous people after they have become famous.  I guess the take away for me is that someone has to confront Goliath.  If I can think of a clever (out of the box?) approach, then it should be me.