David and Goliath – Malcolm Gladwell
This is a book about what happens when the ordinary people
confront the giants (opponents) of all kind like mighty army, disabilities,
misfortune or oppression. Various stories emphasizes on how davids have taken
over goliaths and have proven over multiple times that it is not only the
mighty or one with the advantages succeed but those davids using disadvantages
of the advantages of goliath and or using advantages of their own disadvantages
that they have beaten them time and again.
Giants are not what we think they are. The same qualities
that appear to give them strength are often the sources of great weakness. And
the fact of being an underdog can change in ways that we often fail to
appreciate: it can open doors and create opportunities and educate and enlighten
and make possible what might otherwise seemed unthinkable.
Part One - Advantages
of Disadvantages and (Disadvantages of Advantages)
In a classroom if the student teacher ratio is high, the
quality of education is often affected. With the intent of improving the
quality, if this ratio is reduced, the quality of attention and hence education the teacher gives to
students would improve. However if this ratio is further decreased, there would
be the same deterioration of quality as was seen when the ratio is high. This
finding has been proven through studies (and the specifics are given in the
book).
One interesting example of relation between parenting and
money is noteworthy. More money is not always better. Obviously it is also very
hard to be a good parent if you have too little money. But having huge money
and parenting only makes it easier till a certain point – the point economists
would refer to where “Diminishing Marginal Returns” sets in. The children of
rich parents have everything and most rich parents cannot teach “work hard, be
independent, learn the meaning of money” unlike the children of marginalized
parents. A parent has to set limits. But that’s one of the most difficult
things for the riches because they don’t know what to say when having the
excuse of ‘we cant afford it’ is gone. It is difficult for a rich parent to say
“ we don’t have the money” because if you have a teenager, the teenager says, ‘
Excuse me. You have a Ferrari and Mom has a Jaguar. ‘
The parents have to switch from ‘No, we can’t ’ to ‘No, we
won’t.’
But saying ‘No, we won’t.’ is much harder for a rich parent.
Graph (page 52-53)
The inverted U curve reminds us that there is a point at
which money and resources stop making our lives better and start making them
worse. Another example - of striving to join the best college or institutions
might making things worse at certain point. You might have been the best of
your schools (Big Fish, small pond) but
as you join the best college or university, you would have to compete with the
best of other schools (Big Fishes, Bigger Pond). It is likely that you may not
live upto your own expectations of being the best in this college and hence if
not realized, might hurt your own self esteem. So instead of doing the good,
this point can simply be the point of downfall.
We strive for the best and attach great importance to
getting the finest institutions we can. But rarely do we stop and consider
whether the most prestigious of institutions is always in our best interest.
Part Two – The Theory of Desirable Difficulty
Dyslexia is a problem in many humans since the developmental
stage of the foetus. The dyslexics have problem in processing what is being
heard, have difficulty in reading fluently and comprehending. So as dyslexics
grow, the discovery of the peers being able to read and respond faster and his
inability would be frustrating. Peers think you are stupid. Parents think you
are lazy. With low self- esteem, the kids would get into depression. Many such
kids get into criminal activity.
And so no parents would wish dyslexia on their child! Or
would you?
But there are many success stories of Dyslexics. Dyslexia –
in the best of cases – forces you to develop skills that might otherwise have
lain dormant. Gary Cohn, is the president of Goldman Sachs. Sir Richard Branson
the British billionaire entrepreneur, Charles Schwab, the founder of Brokerage
firm, John Chambers, CEO of CISCO are few names who are dyslexic and have made
it huge in the business world.
This remarkable group of people triumphed inspite of their
disability. They are so smart and creative that nothing – even the lifetime of
struggling with reading couldn’t stop them. Secondly because of their difficulty
in comprehending difficult things, they often make it to the simplest possible
for them to understand. When they understand, the whole world understands
making it easy for their employees and customers.
Any such difficult situations have two ways to deal with.
Accept and live in difficulty or Accept and find an alternate better route to
live and overcome the difficulty. David finds the courage to take on Goliath
and win over.
Malcolm Gladwell has made references to examples from history, science, human psychology, business and politics to prove the point that it is not always the giants that make the victory but an underdog with disadvantages that triumph.
