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

supposed to proceed formally, with the
crossing of swords. But he was a
shepherd, which in ancient times was
one of the lowliest of all professions. He
had no stake in the finer points of
military ritual.
We spend a lot of time thinking about
the ways that prestige and resources and
belonging to elite institutions make us
better off. We don’t spend enough time
thinking about the ways in which those
kinds of material advantages limit our
options. Vivek Ranadivé stood on the
sidelines as the opposing teams’ parents
and coaches heaped abuse on him. Most
people would have shrunk in the face of
that kind of criticism. Not Ranadivé. It
was really random. I mean, my father