Davids and Goliaths

Since I was a nipper it’s captivated me. The biblical story of David and Goliath, that is [1]. In which the underdog little guy knocking over the top dog big guy. Even ignoring its religious versus pagan connotations, it’s a romantic tale. And allegorical too. With David, well equipped with slingshot and lithely unencumbered by armour, more than a match for his opponent. The allegory’s modern day descendant’s asymmetric warfare [2]– wherein the ‘weaker’ combatant uses strategy to offset its resource deficiency. In the 8¾ years since 9/11, no-one – including the USA with its mighty resources – has captured or killed Osama Bin Laden despite a US$25M bounty. So whatever’s been done has failed. Enter Gary Brooks Faulker (pictured) [3], a Colorado carpenter. Last Tuesday Brooks – carrying a pistol, a sword, night-vision gear, Christian religious books and hashish – was arrested by police in Pakistan who said he was on a 1-man mission to personally hunt down and kill Bin Laden. I don’t know why he was arrested. An Age article [4] lampoons Faulkner, but the NYT takes him more seriously [5]. Me? I can’t find any evidence his mission wouldn’t have succeeded. Except that maybe Bin Laden’s in Iran and not Pakistan or Afghanistan [6]. But perhaps an unarrested Faulkner would’ve become a modern day David. And if so, wouldn’t that be delicious – for him to have slain Bin Laden who positions himself as a jihadist David.

farmdoc's blog post number 448

Malcolm Gladwell. I wrote of him last April. Do you think he’s right or left-handed? The latter, of course, because he has an unusual – right brain – way of looking at the world and how it works (or doesn’t work); especially human behaviour. His mind, and thus his writing, is original, quirky, iconoclastic and interesting. He’s had a rapid rise to the fame he deserves. In this article in last 11 May’s New Yorker, Gladwell writes of David and Goliath contests, astutely using basketball to highlight his argument. He quotes research that in contests when Davids fought Goliaths on equal terms, the Davids won only 28.5% of the contests. But when the Davids acknowledged their weaknesses and competed with unconventional strategies, they won 63.6% of the contests. Gladwell’s conclusion – that the essence of such strategies is supplanting ability with effort – is applicable in all contests of human endeavour, including military, political and environmental. It’s a long-held axiom that perseverance will defeat genius. Gladwell extends it with a new ingredient – using tactics the opponent doesn’t expect. His 11 May article is long, but well worth reading. Because I’m very much a left-brain person, I’m grateful to him for being my right-brain surrogate.