What is the lesson we’re supposed to be gleaning from the story of David and Goliath? The theme is repeated in traditional folk tales which originated in the Dark Ages. Cleverness can overcome brute force. The pen is mightier than the sword. Overcoming the odds?
But is it true? Or is it a dream we’re being sold to make our meek existence more palatable?
In the history of military match ups, numbers always win. Certainly there have been reversals in which a smaller force has achieved an advantage, although usually the result is to have endured longer than expected, to have made a valiant stand. In the end the numbers always win.
In the natural world we call it a food chain and it is chiefly governed by size. Put most succinctly, the big fish eats the little fish. Has there ever been a sheep that outsmarts and eats a wolf?
In boxing, fighters are divided into weight categories. No one would think to put a featherweight against a heavy weight, nor even opponents from adjoining weight classes. Why? Because size matters.