David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

couldn’t go on.
“You know, there’s something about
solving a math problem that’s very
satisfying,” Randolph said at one point,
and an almost wistful look came over his
face. “You start with a problem that you
may not know how to solve, but you
know there are certain rules you can
follow and certain approaches you can
take, and often during this process, the
intermediate result is more complex than
what you started with, and then the final
result is simple. And there’s a certain
joy in making that journey.” Randolph
went to the school he wanted. But did he
get the education he wanted? “I think I’m
generally pleased with the way things
turned out,” he said. Then he laughed, a