The publication of Malcolm Gladwell’s fifth book, David & Goliath, has left him perched atop the bestsellers list, delivering his sermon about how David, in the Blink of an eye, crossed a Tipping Point in his battle with Goliath and became a historical Outlier. The newest book can best be described as food for thought, curious examples illustrating peculiar situations rather than concrete analysis. While this tenet of Gladwell’s writing style engages people and broadens his audience, it also contributes to a work that is often muddled and occasionally memorable.
There remains a distinction between what we would like to be true and what is actually so. Gladwell’s scientific take on the biblical battle between the Philistine and the shepherd is refreshing: Goliath likely suffered from acromegaly and struggled to see clearly and move quickly (something anyone who watched André the Giant wrestle can attest to), a sling was actually more accurate and powerful in skilled hands than a novice on the playground brandishing a “slingshot” and concussions are serious injuries.
Myths can be exaggerated (a miracle attributed to St. David suggested that when he was preaching and when worshippers replied that they could not hear him, God caused a mountain to rise up and amplified David’s voice so all could hear him; later scholars suggest that David simply moved to a nearby hill and projected his voice) and this distorts the process that contributed to the outcome. Gladwell attempts to discover the reasons behind seemingly unreal accomplishments and unlike the titular character, misses the mark.
The flaw lies in some superficial inductive reasoning. An entrepreneur is someone who prospers despite the odds, therefore the achievement is due to the methods used to overcome those obstacles and not the merit of the ideas the business is founded upon. The ten thousand hours of dedicated practice espoused in Outliers seems more realistic and attainable than duplicating the unique circumstances faced by each person interviewed or profiled in this book. Gladwell’s supporting evidence is so tenuously connected that he cannot prove his hypothesis beyond a reasonable doubt.
In overcoming dyslexia or the death of a parent, a child learns coping skills which can serve them throughout their lives but those who reach the top of their professions have developed a detailed understanding about an issue, thought creatively about a problem and applied the knowledge they acquired in order to find a solution. This expertise is as integral as the grit they have displayed, each quality complements the other.
You can be a big fish in a small pond, face a desirable level of difficulty or nearly survive disaster and the experience may embolden you but without the required abilities, you cannot scale the mountain inspired simply by confidence. There is still a positive message that nobody is truly to small, weak or alone to reach their goals and the word invincible does not exist. But it may be necessary to adjust the rules of the game in order to highlight strengths, hide weaknesses and level the playing field. It’s like the basketball team who controls the tempo of the game so that they can maximize the chances that their personnel will succeed.
Jay Freireich treated childhood leukemia because of his evidence-based practice, not his gruff demeanor. David Boies possesses a powerful analytical mind that he could have devoted to a number of fields. Wilma Dersken and André Trocmé seemed tacked on and take up space that could be devoted to more relevant characters. Even Hulk Hogan couldn’t slam André the first time.
Gladwell revisits a column that he wrote in 2009 for the New Yorker that I had previously commented about. Vivek Ranadivé coaches a group of young female basketball players and focuses entirely on full-court pressure at the expense of skill development and athletic abilities. As a basketball coach, this still irks me because Ranadivé deprives the players of the basketball skills they need to continue playing the sport after they leave his system.
For pre-teen players, coaches should emphasize fitness, fun and social activity. The players may have improved their fitness pressing the entire game but it is unlikely that they continued lifelong participation in the sport with a firm grasp of movement and basketball skills. If he had devoted the recommended time to instructing how to play the game for the team’s age group (twelve-year-old females in the Learn to Train stage), there only would have been fifteen to twenty percent of practice time left for pressure defense.
Hulk Hogan had to bodyslam André to defend America but it’s never the end of the world when a youth sports team loses. It is not appropriate to coach young athletes with a sole focus on the outcome. If sports can teach youth the value of the process, the activity becomes far more significant than the memory of winning or losing.
Gladwell introduces Rick Pitino as a proponent of full-court pressure and highlights Providence’s run to the 1987 Final Four as an example of how basketball Davids can use the press as their sling. The 1987 season was the first college season where three-point shots were counted in the N.C.A.A., a profound change to the rules which had an effect that nobody appreciated at the time. Providence shot forty-two percent from beyond the line that season, including over sixty in some upsets against late adopting opponents. Since that year, teams have shot more and more threes every season. It is analogous to the invention of the gun and how it replaced the slingshot as a weapon of choice.
Pressure has always been central to Pitino’s philosophy and he has twice won the National Championship with teams that could generate amazing pressure. But when applied in an inappropriate setting – with the Boston Celtics in the N.B.A. – it was an unmitigated disaster. Any strategy, whether it is for David or Goliath, should be reviewed thoroughly beforehand and adjusted to the context where it will be employed. David did not simply change the terms of the battle in his favour. He had to work, honing his slinging skills at home, perhaps even for ten thousand hours, before he could win in the Valley of Elah.