TED Talk >> Malcolm Gladwell: The unheard story of David and Goliath
There's a second piece of this that's important. It's not just that we misunderstand David and his choice of weaponry. It's also that we profoundly misunderstand Goliath. Goliath is not what he seems to be. There's all kinds of hints of this in the Biblical text, things that are in retrospect quite puzzling and don't square with his image as this mighty warrior.
另外还有一点很重要。我们不仅低估了大卫，和他选择的武器。同时我们也极大的高估了哥利亚。哥利亚其实没有看起来的那么可怕。在圣经中有不少的暗示，很多东西回想起来都很疑惑，而且和他强大的战士的形象并不相符。
So to begin with, the Bible says that Goliath is led onto the valley floor by an attendant. Now that is weird, right? Here is this mighty warrior challenging the Israelites to one-on-one combat. Why is he being led by the hand by some young boy, presumably, to the point of combat?
首先，圣经说哥利亚是被一个侍从带到山谷底下的。这有点奇怪，对吧？ 他可是强壮的战士，向以色列人单挑的战士，为什么要由，大概，还是个小男孩的侍从，带到战场上呢？
Secondly, the Bible story makes special note of how slowly Goliath moves, another odd thing to say when you're describing the mightiest warrior known to man at that point. And then there's this whole weird thing about how long it takes Goliath to react to the sight of David. So David's coming down the mountain, and he's clearly not preparing for hand-to-hand combat. There is nothing about him that says, "I am about to fight you like this." He's not even carrying a sword. Why does Goliath not react to that? It's as if he's oblivious to what's going on that day. And then there's that strange comment he makes to David: "Am I a dog that you should come to me with sticks?" Sticks? David only has one stick.
第二，圣经故事里强调，哥利亚行动缓慢，这用这来描述当时无人不晓的最勇猛的战士，不是很奇怪吗。而最奇怪的是，哥利亚花了很长时间才对大卫的出现作出反应。 大卫下山，并没有准备徒手搏斗。书中没有记载说他 “我就准备这样和你打”，他甚至连剑都没带。哥利亚为什么对此毫无反应呢？他好像没有察觉到那天发生了什么。还有他对大卫奇怪的嘲讽： “我是条狗吗？你拿这些打狗棒来干啥啊？” 这些？大卫只带了一根而已。
Question
- Why does Gladwell believe Goliath have problem with his eye sight?
> It takes a long time to notice David approaching. - What two pieces of evidence does Gladwell give to support his main argument?
> David's weapon is much better than people assume and Goliath has health problems. - To look at something in retrospect means
> to examine past events with better understanding - Why does Gladwell focus on examining Goliath's behavior?
> to provide more evidence to support his argument
Well, it turns out that there's been a great deal of speculation within the medical community over the years about whether there is something fundamentally wrong with Goliath, an attempt to make sense of all of those apparent anomalies. There have been many articles written. The first one was in 1960 in the Indiana Medical Journal, and it started a chain of speculation that starts with an explanation for Goliath's height. So Goliath is head and shoulders above all of his peers in that era, and usually when someone is that far out of the norm, there's an explanation for it.
多年来，医学界一直对此颇有猜测，是不是哥利亚本身就有问题。他们试图去解释这些明显的反常现象。人们写了不少文章，第一篇发表在1960年的印第安纳医学杂志上，开始了一系列的推测。首先，它解释了哥利亚的身高。在当时，哥利亚比他的同龄人，高出许多。通常来说，如果有人超出规范如此之多，人们就会对其作出解释。
So the most common form of giantism is a condition called acromegaly, and acromegaly is caused by a benign tumor on your pituitary gland that causes an overproduction of human growth hormone. And throughout history, many of the most famous giants have all had acromegaly. So the tallest person of all time was a guy named Robert Wadlow who was still growing when he died at the age of 24 and he was 8 foot 11. He had acromegaly.
巨人症最常见的症状，叫做肢端肥大症。肢端肥大症是由位于脑下垂体的良性肿瘤，过多分泌人类生长激素而导致的。纵观历史，许多著名的巨人都患有肢端肥大症。世界上有史以来最高的，是一个叫Robert Wadlow的人，他在24岁离世时仍然在长个子，当时身高是2米72，他患有肢端肥大症。
Do you remember the wrestler André the Giant? Famous. He had acromegaly. There's even speculation that Abraham Lincoln had acromegaly. Anyone who's unusually tall, that's the first explanation we come up with. And acromegaly has a very distinct set of side effects associated with it, principally having to do with vision. The pituitary tumor, as it grows, often starts to compress the visual nerves in your brain, with the result that people with acromegaly have either double vision or they are profoundly nearsighted.
你们还记得摔跤手巨人André吗？ 很有名。他也患有肢端肥大症 甚至有人猜测Abraham Lincoln也有肢端肥大症。只要有谁特别高，我们首先都会想到这种解释。肢端肥大症的副作用非常独特，主要和视力有关。脑下垂体肿瘤生长到一定程度时，常会压迫到大脑里的视觉神经，导致肢端肥大症患者要么复视，要么严重近视。
So when people have started to speculate about what might have been wrong with Goliath, they've said, "Wait a minute, he looks and sounds an awful lot like someone who has acromegaly." And that would also explain so much of what was strange about his behavior that day. Why does he move so slowly and have to be escorted down into the valley floor by an attendant? Because he can't make his way on his own. Why is he so strangely oblivious to David that he doesn't understand that David's not going to fight him until the very last moment? Because he can't see him. When he says, "Come to me that I might feed your flesh to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field," the phrase "come to me" is a hint also of his vulnerability. Come to me because I can't see you. And then there's, "Am I a dog that you should come to me with sticks?" He sees two sticks when David has only one.
所以当人们猜测，哥利亚哪里出了毛病的时候，他们都会说，“等一下，他看起来很像是患上了肢端肥大症。”这就解释了那天哥利亚很多奇怪的举动。为什么他行动迟缓，而且必须要由人护送他到山谷下呢？ 因为他没法自己走下去。为什么他如此无视大卫，不明白大卫不到最后一刻，是不会与他交手的呢？ 因为他看不见大卫。当他说，“过来吧，我要把你的肉献给天上的鸟儿和地里的野兽”时，这句“过来吧”也暴露了他的弱点。过来吧，因为我看不见你，另外，“我是条狗吗？你拿这些打狗棒来干啥？” 大卫只拿了一根棒，而他看见的是两根。
So the Israelites up on the mountain ridge looking down on him thought he was this extraordinarily powerful foe. What they didn't understand was that the very thing that was the source of his apparent strength was also the source of his greatest weakness.
所以以色列人在山脊上往下看时，以为他是无比强大的敌人。他们不知道的是，巨人外表强大的根源，也是他弱点的根源。
And there is, I think, in that, a very important lesson for all of us. Giants are not as strong and powerful as they seem. And sometimes the shepherd boy has a sling in his pocket.
我认为，这个故事给我们所有人都上了一课。巨人并不像看起来那么强大，有时牧童的口袋里，还有一根投石绳。
Question
- What is the main point of Gladwell's presentation?
> If people assume without thinking, they may not see things as they really are. - What might have been responsible for Goliath's sights?
> a hormone unbalance - What evidence suggest that Goliath had growth disorder?
> his unusual height and vision problems - Why does Gladwell think the phrase "come to me" suggests Goliath's vulnerability?
> It suggests Goliath can't see David when he's far away. - What medical condition might Goliath have had?
> giantism - To speculate about something means
> to form a theory about it without solid evidence
Game: Speaking
- If Goliath were as powerful as the story says, he would be able to move and react to things faster.
- Although Goliath was wearing heavy armor all over his body, he was vulnerable between his eyes.
- David is considered an underdog because he appears less powerful than Goliath.
- The Bible says that Goliath is led onto the valley floor by an attendant.
- Had David not used a sling, he would have likely been defeated by his stronger opponent.
- The stopping power of heavy rock fired from a sling is roughly equal to that of a handgun.
