The Giant stood at the valley, dressed in full armor and
carrying weapons for close combat. The short sharp spear, a javelin and a shiny
sword made of bronze. An attendant stood in front of him.
“Choose a man and let him come down to me. If he prevails in
battle and strike me down, we shall be slaves to you. But If I prevail and
strike him down, you shall be our slaves," shouted the Giant, standing almost 7
foot tall and as thick as the bark of the thickest tree in the world.
Nobody moves, the Giant was intimidating; they had no chance
in front of him. That is when the underdog shows up, an unassuming shepherd boy
with a sling for weapon –David.
The king is not willing to send David to his death, but
David’s words are very persuasive “I've slayed wild animals to protect my
sheep, the Giant can’t be worse than that." It doesn't matter to David that the wild
animals were unarmed. David prepares to face the ultimate favorite – as the
world will know.
Goliath bellows, “Come to me, Come to me.”
David runs down the valley, with a stick in his hand, and
sling in the other hand. As he runs forward, he whips his sling several times
around his shoulder, Goliath moves slowly, his movements are particularly slow
for a warrior. His attendant warns him of the impending danger, the Giant doesn't heed to his attendant’s words - after all he is the ultimate favorite
against a puny shepherd.
Goliath is amused, “Am I a dog that you should come with
sticks?”
In few minutes Goliath
will realize what a sling can do. The speed of a rock from an
expert sling projector is almost equal to a modern short gun, the closer he is to the
Giant, the harder the impact. David is running in as fast as he could, he is
taking his aim at the only vulnerable spot of the armored suit – Goliath’s
forehead, for he had a prominent forehead.
The rest is his history. That’s
the story, but what if we are missing some crucial links? What if David was the
favorite to begin with?
Modern medical science says that abnormal size of human beings can be
connected to Acromegaly –
a disease caused by uncontrolled pituitary gland secretion. The side effects
include - vision problems such as blurring and double vision apart from
abnormal body size and clumsy movement control. Goliath was probably a gentle
Giant with partial vision, the attendant was his visual aid – the opponent’s
strategy was not to fight the battle, but to win by intimidation.
Acromegaly explains Goliath’s words at the
battle field – both his strengths and his weakness. What we perceived as his
strength - his enormous size, and what we didn't know about him -his weakness - the poor vision.
He said, ‘Come to me, come to me,’
because his vision is blurred and he couldn't see objects far away from him. He doesn't see David, he just sees a blur.
He said, "Am I a dog that you
should come with sticks?” But David had only one stick, unless he had another
hand to hold the sling. Could it be double vision?
What’s in it for me?
This is a profound story of perspective change
- a complete shift in basic understanding of a well- known scenario in new
light. Imagine you are trying to convince a very stubborn person to look at
alternatives. What if he is completely closed to options outside his own? Now,
I’m assuming that you are able to tell this story to the stubborn person with
enough flamboyance to eke out some reaction. It doesn’t matter if the reaction
is overly aggressive or defensive; a reaction is all that matters. He may not even
fully accept the shift of David’s character from an underdog to the favorite. He
might even question the validity of the modern extrapolations on a biblical
story.
Nonetheless, this story will definitely open a small possibility for an
alternative to your original problem. Subconsciously,
this story will prepare him for the other alternatives. He will begin to question his
options; can there be another way to look at his options? That moment of doubt
is the perfect place to present your alternatives. Such is the power of a good
story, the fastest way to get in touch with the subconscious of the audience.
Conclusion:
It is true that history is written
by the winners. The more dramatic the story is, the better the longevity of the
characters. The story of the underdog David against the Giant Goliath is much
more appealing and inspiring than a gentle giant slayed by a clever trick on a
battlefield.
We often forget to compare the
strength and weakness in terms of known factors. The sling made David the real
favorite. Goliath had as much chance as a knight with a knife against the
revolver of a rebel.
At times, what we perceive as
strength is the source of the very vulnerability that is hidden at first sight.
Complacency and confidence are just hair-strand apart.
Reference: “David and Goliath by
Malcom Gladwell”
Disclaimer: What’s in it section is based my own
assumptions and understanding. If you have time and money, you are welcome to
conduct experiments to disapprove that.
