How David suckered Goliath using reframing. Then using reframing made it appear to be a miracle.

This hunched over 74 year old man could kick the ass of 99.9% of TRP using nothing more then a rock and a piece of string. And if confronted by him, most of you would make the same mistake that Goliath made. You would laugh and mock him. I will explain how David analysed his enemy, how David reframed his problem. And then evidence to show that it was not a miracle. For the impatient, that David choose 5 smooth stones before he went to the fight is proof that he planned it out.

Ironically all of David’s supporters despite their good intentions where actually limiting David. They couldn’t see outside the box.

The sling is extremely deceptive, it is extremely simple it is nothing more then a piece of string and a rock. With practice the rocks can be thrown at tremendous force as this old man shows in this video.

warning - a sling is not a toy, if you decide to experiment with a sling. Ensure it is a remote area far away from others

Analysing your enemy

If you strip away all of the superfluous details from the David and Goliath encounter, we are left with these facts. Goliath was a huge fighter and a champion, he had been undefeated and he most likely had been trained as a fighter from an extremely early age, as a result he had little knowledge in other things besides a certain type of fighting. He also was over confident, he had never been defeated, and this lead to arrogance.

David analysed Goliath, came to the conclusion that Golaith would not take him seriously. So probably Golaith was thinking he will have some fun playing with David before he kills him.

Reframing the problem

Initially the Jews where looking at the problem as How can Goliath be defeated using a sword and wearing armor ?. With the problem put in this frame there was no possible way to beat Goliath. He was an extremly large man, with extreme skill and experience. David reframed the problem to How can he defeat Goliath using the skills and knowledge he has ?.

Often your best friends and supporters will unintentionally limit you

This happened with David. The King of Isreal offered David the use of his sword and armor. He kept on telling David that he is nuts. He actually had good intentions. If David had used the sword and armor he would have lost the fight.

We often see this on TRP, some guy comes up with a new idea. Instead of analysing the idea, everyone just rights the idea off. This does not mean that one should not critisize an idea. But it should be done in the manner of “These are possible shortcomings or pitfalls” and then “How can these shortcomings and pitfalls be overcome”. Sometimes the pitfalls can not be overcome, if that is the case the idea should be abandoned.

##Taking an inventory of your own personal resources.

David then sat back and did an inventory of his abilities and resources and then analysed how can he use these abilities to beat Goliath. David started out as a shepard, probably he was scrawny but had a great deal of endurance. How can he use his scrawniness and endurance as an advantage ?

What abilities did David as a shepard have which could be used as an advantage against Golath ? Ideally he would want to be able to hit Golaith without Goliath being able to hit him. Once blow from Golaith and David would be on the ground finished.

The one skill that David had which Golaith lacked was the ability to use a sling. A sling has been the traditional tool of shepards for thousands of years. It is used for all sorts of things, from driving the herd animals, hunting food for dinner, driving away predators.

Golaith most likely was unfamilar with a sling. Most likely he was raised in a palace to be the king’s champion.

##What really went down.

I emphasized earlier the importance of David choosing 5 smooth stones. Most likely the stones where about the size of an egg and oval. Each stone probably wieghed between 2 ounces and 4 ounces. That he choose 5 stones is of considerable importance. From observing slingers in primative societies, we know that they have a 20% to 25% chance of hitting a fist sized target at 25 to 30 yards. That meant that David calculated he needed 5 stones to have an almost guaranteed hit on a place where there was a hole in Goliath’s armor. If David had taken more then 5 stones he would have been carrying more then 2 pounds of weight. This would have limited his speed.

David then counted on Golath’s overconfidence and his desire to show off. So most likely David over played his appearance of helplessness. This would encourage Goliath to show boat. “Who is this small Jewish weakling”. “I am not going to kill him right away.”

I dont know this for certain, but most likely David had the sling hidden in one hand and a rock hidden in his other hand. While Golaith was show boating, David slipped the rock into the sling and then cast the rock. The biblical account states that David hit Golaith with his first cast.

Even if he had missed, he still would have eventually beaten Goliath. Assuming he had missed, most likely Golaith would not have seen the stone coming. Slings are used regularly by Palestineans against the Isreali army to inflict casualties. Most of the Isreali soldiers hit by the rocks never knew what hit them.

If the fight had turned into a longer engagement, David still would have won. Golaith was weighted down and could not hit David. As a result Golaith would have had to chase after David, he would have gotten tired first. Meanwhile, David could be constantly inflicting damage on Golath.

##What mistakes did Golaith make ?

Golaith made the mistake of assuming. This was caused by over confidence and not researching his opponent. The moment David showed up appearing unarmed, Golaith should have assumed that something was up. He then should have tried to figure out what exactly was it.

Lets assume that Golaith figured out that David had a sling. He then could have attempted to take David by surprise. So maybe Golaith could have pretended to be sucked in by David, he then starts his show boating routine. David is then thinking things are going according to plan.

Then while David is winding up for his cast, Golaith kicks up sand or throws his shield at David. David is not expecting this since he still thinks Golaith is showboating. This would throw David’s aim off and then while David is distracted attempt to close the gap as quickly as possible.

##Reframing is not an excuse for laziness

David didn’t sit around all day and shove taco chips into his face. Or what ever people did 3000 years ago to procrastinate. Instead he took the limited resources and abilities he had and attempted to improve himself in these areas as much as possible. He also had a great deal of courage, there are earlier accounts then when he was younger he killed a lion with his sling.

I stated earlier that a good slinger can hit a fist sized target at 25 to 30 yards. The main reason the story of Golaith is discounted as myth is because it takes a lot of practice to become skilled in the use of a sling. So most people pick it up, they try it a few time and fail. It takes several years of practice to become proficient at slinging, most people do not have the patience.

I will again repeat the same warning.

A sling is not a toy, ensure that it is used safely. The greatest danger is the rock will leave the sling earlier and strike a bystander

So in my case I was using my sling, 3 guys walked up to me with smirks on their faces asking what is that. They then asked if they could see it. I then gave my standard warning, there is a safe area for spectators. I told them make sure you stand there and do not move. Ofcourse the did not listen to me and moved position as I was casting the stone. In hindsight I should have probably refused to show them how the sling works.

Anyway the egg sized rock left the sling early, the next thing I know is one of the guys is lying on the ground screaming and holding his leg. The stone had left the sling when I had only completed about 50% of my stroke. When he pulled his hand away, already there was an egg sized welt and it was turning black. Fortunately there was no other damage. Anyway they kind of gave me a funny look and then they just walked away.