Ted Tuesday— Malcolm Gladwell: The Unheard Story of David and Goliath

Moral of the story: The Goliath might not be strong and David might not be weak. Things are not always the way they seem to be. So "don't bring a knife to a gun fight." (FSO competitors take notice)

Good Morning Folks,

Today's TED Talk is a religious story but also is a metaphor for our mission here at FSO. It's about innovation. (re)IMAGING. Change and finding the power within oneself to believe that you can be all that you can be.

Moral of the story: The Goliath might not be strong and David might not be weak. Things are not always the way they seem to be. So "don't bring a knife to a gun fight." (FSO competitors take notice).

In this video, a young shepherd, a mighty warrior, an impossible victory. But, asks Malcolm Gladwell, is that really what the David and Goliath story is about?

It's a classic underdog tale: David, a young shepherd armed only with a sling, beats Goliath, the mighty warrior. The story has transcended its biblical origins to become a common shorthand for unlikely victory. But, asks Malcolm Gladwell, is that really what the David and Goliath story is about?

Detective of fads and emerging subcultures, chronicler of jobs-you-never-knew-existed, Malcolm Gladwell's work is toppling the popular understanding of bias, crime, food, marketing, race, consumers and intelligence.

I think that one way to read the story of David and Goliath is as a parable about advances in technology and the loss of an old way of war. For a long time, in Ancient Greece, the archers and cavalry were an afterthought to the infantry. But then, advances in technology (better saddles, stirrups, and bows) started to make cavalry and archers valuable. They started to turn the tide in battles (Alexander conquered the world with cavalry). And this took away a lot of the face-to-face, "honorable" engagement of war. So Homer, wanting to commemorate the great old heroes of yesteryear, made them all infantryman. And he made the cowardly villain an archer (Odysseus also uses a bow, and tellingly, he wins Achilles' armor from Ajax--a giant infantryman-- further symbolizing the death of the old way of war).

For the Israelites, perhaps, technological advances (better slings, etc.) were what allowed them to hold off against neighboring tribes. So the slinger (David) becomes a hero, instead of a villain, for killing off the great fighter of yesteryear (Goliath).

This same parable still gets told about more modern warfare. In Kurosawa's masterpiece, Seven Samurai, most of the samurai (who each represent a samurai of legend) are killed by modern guns.

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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