I learned a story —— David and Goliath Today I listened to a TED speech. The speaker talked about a famous biblical story—— David and Goliath. He said the story often has the metaphor of a weak person or team having an improbable victory over a stronger person or team. But when he retrospected the story, he had some new discoveries. We misunderstand both of them. First, David is not an underdog as the story says. In medieval times, many slingers can hit the birds in flight accurately. The stoping power of the stone thrown by an experienced slinger is roughly equal to the power of a handgun. So David, as a shepherd, has the very strength. Secondly, Goliath is not a mighty warrior as people think. Though he looks super tall and strong and is armed with many heavy weapons, but he moves not fast enough. He doesn't realize what's going on until the last minute when David throws stone to the vulnerable point between his eyes. The speaker said Goliath likely has acromegaly which has the symptom of bad eyesight and abnormal height. That's why he cannot react fast to David's sling. The very thing is the source of his strength is also the source of his greatest weakness. This speech is really interesting. I learned a lot.