The lesson of David-vs-Goliath: "Bring a gun to a knife-fight."

[DetlefK]

http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_the_unheard_story_of_david_and_goliath/transcript

Goliath was 6-foot-9, which was huge for ancient times. And he was lead onto the battle-field by an attendant.
Add those up and you have that Goliath suffered from gigantism, which has the side-effect of shortsightedness.

Goliath enters the duel expecting the usual: hand-to-hand-combat with armour, spear, sword and shield. Because that's how normal people fight in ancient times.
And at close range, his size is an advantage and his shortsightedness is no longer a disadvantage.




Enter David. David is no warrior. He has never fought in hand-to-hand-combat with armour and weapons, because he never had to. His weapon is another one. A slingshot.

Slingshooters were a staple of ancient armies: They were the artillery. A formation of slingshooters would rain devastation on enemy infantry. A shot can wound or break a bone. A lucky shot to the head can kill.

And David knew how to aim with a slingshot: As a shepherd, he had to use it to fend of wolves.




And so it came to a duel. And it ended like this:

[rug]

1. Chalk up one more win for diarrhea.

http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/raiders.asp

Its been the impetus for much of human civilization.

[trotsky]

2. Yes the story is very much like that scene from the Indiana Jones movie.

Both are fiction.

[DetlefK]

3. To be fair, it's one of the more plausible Bible-stories.

But it was hyped from
"That one time our dude defeated that huge guy with brains and whole lot of luck. You had to be there. This was a fight for the history-books, man."
to
"Sure, our guy had a gun, but he really won the duel because God was on his side."

[trotsky]

5. Plausible, perhaps.

Seems like the Philistines and Goliath himself would know quite well themselves what his weakness was - why would they agree to a duel with a long distance fighter?

Nope, just a story to set up a hero figure.

[DetlefK]

6. Well, Goliath was surprised when he saw that his opponent wields a shepherd's stick.

"Am I a dog that you would come to me with sticks?"


Slingshooters were auxiliary-units. Their job was to soften up the enemy and then quickly retreat right before the brawl begins. Maybe the Philistines never thought that somebody would be so foolish to put a slingshooter at the frontline.

[Act_of_Reparation]

4. Malcolm didn't go to medical school

There's a slight problem with that theory: there so such disease as "gigantism".

Gigantism is a symptom that can be caused by several disorders. One disorder that presents both gigantism and myopia is Marfan's Syndrome, but Marfan's won't make you bulky. Rather, the extremities are long and spidery, and the body has a "cadaverous" appearance. It also presents a slew of neuronal, skeletal, and muscular symptoms that would make warfare a poor prospect for anyone suffering from it.

Perhaps other syndromes present both gigantism and myopia with a high degree of reliability, but gigantic disorders typically present adverse musculoskeletal problems that, again, would make warfare a poor profession.

If there was a real Goliath, and Goliath did indeed suffer from gigantism, his purpose on the battlefield may have been purely psychological, because he sure as shit wouldn't have won out in a melee with an experienced swordsman or spearman in peak physical condition.

[trotsky]

7. But it sure makes for a great story, doesn't it? n/t

[Act_of_Reparation]

8. I give it an "A" for effort

But it's a complicated, unverifiable answer to a question no one asked.

If a real David killed a real Goliath, we can chalk the more fantastical elements of the tale up as embellishments of the type that naturally accompany an oral tradition.

It's George Washington chopping down the cherry tree. It's a popular tale about a popular figure, and it probably didn't go down quite like we have been led to think it did.