In the Biblical story of David and Goliath, David initially put on a coat of mail and a brass helmet and girded himself with a sword: he prepared to wage a conventional battle of swords against Goliath. But then he stopped. “I cannot walk in these, for I am unused to it,” he said (in Robert Alter’s translation), and picked up those five smooth stones. What happened, Arreguín-Toft wondered, when the underdogs likewise acknowledged their weakness and chose an unconventional strategy? He went back and re-analyzed his data. In those cases, David’s winning percentage went from 28.5 to 63.6. When underdogs choose not to play by Goliath’s rules, they win, Arreguín-Toft concluded, “even when everything we think we know about power says they shouldn’t.

Mr. Gladwell in The New Yorker. (via theoriginaljoefisher) (via tanya77) (via soupsoup)

Lessons here for everyone from start-ups to al-Qaeda.
Cite Arrow reblogged from soupsoup
33 notes | | May 7, 2009
  1. obsessivecompulsive reblogged this from brocatus and added:
    alanfm78 + brocatus)
  2. amberofthismoment reblogged this from brocatus
  3. brocatus reblogged this from writer-a
  4. huliwuxian reblogged this from ferrydust
  5. steph reblogged this from ferrydust
  6. downtowncreator reblogged this from ferrydust
  7. ferrydust reblogged this from soupsoup and added:
    tanya77) :soupsoup
  8. kavanr reblogged this from mikehudack
  9. feathers reblogged this from morgenstern
  10. 32feet reblogged this from tanya77
  11. morgenstern reblogged this from soupsoup
  12. stphn reblogged this from soupsoup
  13. thoseareturkeys reblogged this from soupsoup
  14. mikehudack reblogged this from soupsoup
  15. klaatu reblogged this from soupsoup
  16. soupsoup reblogged this from tanya77
  17. writer-a reblogged this from tanya77
  18. tanya77 reblogged this from theoriginaljoefisher
  19. theoriginaljoefisher posted this