Malcolm Gladwell On David Vs. Goliath

The New Yorker published a recent essay by Malcolm Gladwell, titled Annals of Innovation: How David Beats Goliath, in which he argues that Davids actually win when they realize their weakness and challenge the convention, and conventional wisdom: 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.” It’s a really great read, particularly for fans of hoops, and more specifically college hoops (and Rick Pitino-coached, full-court-pressin’ college hoops at that), but casual hoops fan or not, give it a read.