TOW #20 1st Half of Gladwell's David and Goliath

In considering the purpose of the first half of Gladwell's David and Goliath, it is first essential to understand that the essay seeks to build a completed picture of "the art of battling giants," as Gladwell phrases it. With this notion in mind, it is true that the essays that comprise the first half of Gladwell's David and Goliath are intended to act as a sort of groundwork for Gladwell's later expositions on the nature of battling more powerful foes.

The first essay of David and Goliath considers the biblical epoch from which the book takes its namesake. First, it offers up a consideration of the historical setting, including a modern day examination of the location, and the nature of the region comprehensively known as Judea as being a hotbed for political conflict, even dating back to biblical times. It then delves into the specifics of the engagement between David and Goliath on that fateful morning, detailing in exact detail how David used the precision of his slingshot to fell the fearsome Goliath. This acts as an interlude to the book's first primary purpose: discussing the nature of perceived strengths that are actually weaknesses, and the role that this plays in battling stronger opponents.

To examine this, Gladwell first explains how this idea can be seen in the biblical epoch. He outlines how Goliath's numerous swords, daggers, full-body armor, and other battle equipment served as nothing more than hindrances in a one on one engagement against a more nimble opponent who could strike from distance.

He uses this principle to introduce his first example, of a girls 11-12 year old basketball team who made use of their opponents hidden weaknesses, which conventional logic viewed as strengths, to achieve their goals.

The full court press is a tactic rarely seen in modern basketball, at any level, because it often seen as a "dirty," even dishonorable, play to execute. It is far more conventional and well-regarded to allow an opponent to inbound the ball in a traditional sense, and focus defensive efforts as close to the basket as possible. When battling giants, however, this simply isn't a viable option.

Gladwell uses the example of a Californian 11-12 year old girls basketball team to illustrate this first principle in a modern setting. Where the good teams in their league seemed to dominate under the basket, it seemed as though the not-so-good teams were content to rely on traditional tactics, and suffer losses as a result. One team, however, decided to make use of an unconventional strategy, the full-court press, and capitalize on the fact that their more powerful opponents had no practice dealing with defensive efforts away from the basket.

This first example aptly illustrates Gladwell's intended principle, and provides for an intriguing glimpse at a modern application of ancient biblical principles.