TEDSalon NY2013
Malcolm Gladwell: The unheard story of David and Goliath
Malcolm Gladwell: A descoñecida historia de David e Goliat.
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É un conto clásico sobre o perdedor esperado: David, un xove pastor armado só cun tirapedras, vence a Goliat, o poderoso guerreiro. A historia trascendeu os seus orixes bíblicos para converterse na escenografía común das vitorias improbables. Pero, Malcolm Gladwell pregunta, a historia de David e Goliat trata realmente sobre iso?
Malcolm Gladwell - Writer
Detective of fads and emerging subcultures, chronicler of jobs-you-never-knew-existed, Malcolm Gladwell's work is toppling the popular understanding of bias, crime, food, marketing, race, consumers and intelligence. Full bio
Detective of fads and emerging subcultures, chronicler of jobs-you-never-knew-existed, Malcolm Gladwell's work is toppling the popular understanding of bias, crime, food, marketing, race, consumers and intelligence. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
So I wanted to tell a story
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Quero contarvos unha historia
00:13
that really obsessed me when I was writing my new book,
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que me obsesionaba mentres escribía o meu novo libro,
00:17
and it's a story of something that happened
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e é unha historia sobre algo que pasou
00:20
3,000 years ago,
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fai 3.000 anos,
00:22
when the Kingdom of Israel was in its infancy.
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cando o reino de Israel estaba aínda na súa nenez.
00:25
And it takes place in an area called the Shephelah
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Ocurriu na área coñecida como Shephelah
00:28
in what is now Israel.
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onde agora está Israel.
00:30
And the reason the story obsessed me is that
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A historia obsesionábame porque
00:32
I thought I understood it, and then I went back over it
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eu cría que a entendía, pero cando volvín a ela
00:36
and I realized that I didn't understand it at all.
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dinme conta de que non a entendía para nada.
00:40
Ancient Palestine had a -- along its eastern border,
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A antiga Palestina tiña unha -- ó longo da fronteira este
00:44
there's a mountain range.
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hai unha cadea montañosa.
00:46
Still same is true of Israel today.
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Segue estando no Israel de hoxe en día.
00:48
And in the mountain range are all of the ancient cities
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E nesta cadea montañosa atópanse todas as cidades antigas
00:51
of that region, so Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron.
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desta rexión, é dicir, Jerusalén, Belén e Hebrón.
00:55
And then there's a coastal plain
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Tamén hai unha chaira costeira
00:57
along the Mediterranean, where Tel Aviv is now.
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ó longo do Mediterráneo, onde agora está Tel Aviv.
01:01
And connecting the mountain range with the coastal plain
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Unindo a cadea montañosa coa costa
01:04
is an area called the Shephelah,
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atópase un área chamada Shephelah,
01:06
which is a series of valleys and ridges that run east to west,
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composta por unha serie de vales e cordóns montañosos que van de este a oeste,
01:10
and you can follow the Shephelah, go through the Shephelah
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e podes seguir a Shephelah, ir a través dela
01:14
to get from the coastal plain to the mountains.
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para chegar ás montañas dende a costa.
01:16
And the Shephelah, if you've been to Israel, you'll know
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Shephela, se fóchedes a Israel o saberedes,
01:18
it's just about the most beautiful part of Israel.
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é a parte máis bonita de Israel.
01:20
It's gorgeous, with forests of oak
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É precioso, con carballeiras
01:23
and wheat fields and vineyards.
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e campos de trigo e viñedos.
01:26
But more importantly, though, in the history of that region,
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Pero aínda máis importante na historia desta rexión,
01:29
it's served, it's had a real strategic function,
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que tiña función estratéxica,
01:33
and that is, it is the means by which hostile armies
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son os medios polos que exércitos hostís
01:36
on the coastal plain find their way,
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atopaban o camiño pola costa,
01:38
get up into the mountains and threaten those living in the mountains.
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subían ás montañas e amedrentaban a aqueles que vivían alí.
01:42
And 3,000 years ago, that's exactly what happens.
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Isto é o que pasou exactamente hai 3.000 anos.
01:45
The Philistines, who are the biggest of enemies
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Os palestinos, os grandes inimigos
01:49
of the Kingdom of Israel,
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do reino de Israel,
01:51
are living in the coastal plain.
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viven na chaira costeira.
01:53
They're originally from Crete. They're a seafaring people.
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Son orixinarios de Creta, mariñeiros,
01:56
And they may start to make their way
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e deben comezar a súa viaxe
01:58
through one of the valleys of the Shephelah
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a través dun dos vales de Shephelah
02:00
up into the mountains,
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cara ás montañas,
02:02
because what they want to do is occupy the highland area
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porque o que queren é ocupar as terras altas
02:04
right by Bethlehem and split the Kingdom of Israel in two.
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á dereita de Belén e dividir o reino de Israel en dous.
02:08
And the Kingdom of Israel, which is headed by King Saul,
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O rei Saúl, xefe do reino de Israel,
02:11
obviously catches wind of this,
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ó oíren rumores sobre iso,
02:13
and Saul brings his army down from the mountains
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baixa as súas tropas das montañas
02:16
and he confronts the Philistines in the Valley of Elah,
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e enfréntase ós Palestinos no Val de Elah,
02:19
one of the most beautiful of the valleys of the Shephelah.
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un dos vales máis bonitos de Shephelah.
02:22
And the Israelites dig in along the northern ridge,
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Os Isrealís comezaron a atacar pola cordilleira do norte,
02:25
and the Philistines dig in along the southern ridge,
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os Palestinos fixérono pola do sur,
02:29
and the two armies just sit there for weeks
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e os dous exércitos simplemente sentaron durante semanas
02:32
and stare at each other, because they're deadlocked.
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e se miraban os uns ós outros porque estaban en punto morto.
02:34
Neither can attack the other, because to attack the other side
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Non podían atacar ós outros, porque para atacar ó outro lado
02:36
you've got to come down the mountain into the valley
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tés que baixar da montaña ó val
02:40
and then up the other side, and you're completely exposed.
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e subir polo outro lado, polo que estás totalmente exposto.
02:42
So finally, to break the deadlock,
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Ó final, para saír deste estancamento,
02:44
the Philistines send their mightiest warrior
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os palestinos mandaron ó seu guerreiro máis forte
02:47
down into the valley floor, and he calls out
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ó val, onde chama ós isrealitas
02:50
and he says to the Israelites,
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e di
02:51
"Send your mightiest warrior down,
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"Enviade aquí abaixo ó voso mellor guerreiro
02:54
and we'll have this out, just the two of us."
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e trataremos este asunto, só nós os dous."
02:56
This was a tradition in ancient warfare called single combat.
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Nas guerras antigas había unha tradición chamada combate individual.
03:00
It was a way of settling disputes
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Era unha forma de resolver disputas
03:02
without incurring the bloodshed of a major battle.
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sen incorrer no derramamento de sangue dunha batalla maior.
03:06
And the Philistine who is sent down,
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O palestino que enviaron,
03:09
their mighty warrior, is a giant.
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o seu mellor guerreiro, é un xigante.
03:11
He's 6 foot 9.
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Mide 2 metros.
03:13
He's outfitted head to toe in this glittering bronze armor,
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Levaba posta unha brillante armadura de bronce que lle cubría dos pés á cabeza
03:17
and he's got a sword and he's got a javelin
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e tiña unha espada, unha xavelina
03:20
and he's got his spear. He is absolutely terrifying.
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e un arpón. É absolutamente terrorífico.
03:23
And he's so terrifying that none of the Israelite soldiers want to fight him.
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Dá tanto medo que ningún dos soldados israelitas quere loitar con él.
03:28
It's a death wish, right? There's no way they think they can take him.
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É un suicidio, verdade? Cren que non hai forma de poder gañarlle.
03:32
And finally the only person who will come forward
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Ó final, a única persoa que deu un paso á fronte
03:35
is this young shepherd boy,
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foi un xove pastor
03:37
and he goes up to Saul and he says, "I'll fight him."
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quen se dirixiu a Saúl e dixo, "Eu loitarei contra el".
03:40
And Saul says, "You can't fight him. That's ridiculous.
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E Saúl dixo: "Non podes loitar contra el. Iso é ridículo.
03:43
You're this kid. This is this mighty warrior."
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Tí és un neno. Éste é un guerreiro poderoso".
03:45
But the shepherd is adamant. He says, "No, no, no,
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Pero o pastor é insistente. Di, "No, no, no,
03:48
you don't understand, I have been defending my flock
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non entendes, eu defendín o meu rabaño
03:51
against lions and wolves for years. I think I can do it."
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de leóns e lobos durante anos. Creo que podo facelo".
03:55
And Saul has no choice. He's got no one else who's come forward.
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Saúl non tivo opción. Non había ninguén máis que se atrevera.
03:58
So he says, "All right."
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Polo que dixo, "Está ben".
03:59
And then he turns to the kid, and he says,
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Entón deuse a volta cara ó neno, e dixo,
04:01
"But you've got to wear this armor. You can't go as you are."
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"Tés que levar esta armadura. Non podes ir así".
04:04
So he tries to give the shepherd his armor,
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Intentou darlle a armadura ó pastor,
04:07
and the shepherd says, "No."
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pero este dixo "Non".
04:08
He says, "I can't wear this stuff."
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"Non podo levar esta cousa."
04:10
The Biblical verse is, "I cannot wear this for I have not proved it,"
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O versículo da Biblia di, "Non podo levalo porque non o provei",
04:14
meaning, "I've never worn armor before. You've got to be crazy."
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significando, "Nunca levei armadura antes. Tés que estar tolo".
04:18
So he reaches down instead on the ground
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Pola contra, agachouse ó chan,
04:20
and picks up five stones
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colleu cinco pedras
04:22
and puts them in his shepherd's bag
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que puxo na súa bolsa de pastor
04:24
and starts to walk down the mountainside to meet the giant.
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e comezou a baixar pola ladeira da montaña cara ó xigante.
04:29
And the giant sees this figure approaching,
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O xigante vía esta figura achegándose,
04:31
and calls out, "Come to me so I can feed your flesh
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e gritou, "Achégate a min para que poida alimentar coa túa carne
04:34
to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field."
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ós paxaros dos ceos e ás bestas da terra."
04:38
He issues this kind of taunt towards this person
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Lanzalle esta provocación cara á persoa
04:42
coming to fight him.
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que viña a enfrontarse a el.
04:43
And the shepherd draws closer and closer,
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O pastor achegábase cada vez máis e máis,
04:47
and the giant sees that he's carrying a staff.
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e o xigante viu que levaba un bastón.
04:50
That's all he's carrying.
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Iso era todo o que levaba.
04:51
Instead of a weapon, just this shepherd's staff,
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No lugar dunha arma, solo ese bastón de pastor,
04:53
and he says -- he's insulted --
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e di -- sentíndose ofendido--
04:55
"Am I a dog that you would come to me with sticks?"
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"Son un can para que veñas a min con paos?"
04:59
And the shepherd boy takes one of his stones
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Entón o pastorciño colleu unha das pedras
05:02
out of his pocket, puts it in his sling
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do seu peto, púxoa no seu tirafondas
05:05
and rolls it around and lets it fly
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e deixouna voar,
05:07
and it hits the giant right between the eyes --
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dándolle ó xigante xusto entre os ollos --
05:10
right here, in his most vulnerable spot --
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xusto aquí, no seu punto máis vulnerable --
05:12
and he falls down either dead or unconscious,
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que caeu ou morto ou inconsciente.
05:15
and the shepherd boy runs up and takes his sword
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O pequeno pastor correu cara a el, colleu a súa espada
05:18
and cuts off his head,
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e cortoulle a cabeza.
05:19
and the Philistines see this and they turn and they just run.
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Os palestinos, vendo isto, déronse a volta e sinxelamente correron.
05:25
And of course, the name of the giant is Goliath
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Por suposto, o nome do xigante é Goliat
05:29
and the name of the shepherd boy is David,
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e o do pequeno pastor é David.
05:32
and the reason that story has obsessed me
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A razón pola cal esta historia me obsesionaba
05:35
over the course of writing my book
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mentres escribía o meu libro
05:36
is that everything I thought I knew about that story
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é que todo o que cría saber sobre esta historia
05:39
turned out to be wrong.
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resultou non ser así.
05:42
So David, in that story, is supposed to be the underdog, right?
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Entón David, nesta historia, é o que supoñemos que vai perder, verdade?
05:46
In fact, that term, David and Goliath,
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De feito, este termo, David e Goliat,
05:48
has entered our language as a metaphor for
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entrou na nosa lingua como unha metáfora para
05:51
improbable victories
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vitorias improbables
05:53
by some weak party over someone far stronger.
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da parte máis débil contra alguén moito máis forte.
05:56
Now why do we call David an underdog?
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Entón por que dicimos que David ten as de perder?
05:58
Well, we call him an underdog because he's a kid,
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Bueno, pode ser que digamos iso porque é un neno,
06:01
a little kid, and Goliath is this big, strong giant.
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un neniño, e Goliat é un xigante grande, forte.
06:05
We also call him an underdog
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Tamén poder ser porque
06:07
because Goliath is an experienced warrior,
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Goliat é un guerreiro con experiencia,
06:11
and David is just a shepherd.
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e David só é un pastor.
06:12
But most importantly, we call him an underdog
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Pero a razón máis importante pola que consideramos que David vai perder
06:15
because all he has is -- it's that Goliath is outfitted with
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é que todo o que ten -- quero dicir que Goliat leva
06:20
all of this modern weaponry,
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todas esas armas modernas,
06:22
this glittering coat of armor
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esa pecheira brillante
06:24
and a sword and a javelin and a spear,
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e unha espada, unha xavelina e un arpón,
06:27
and all David has is this sling.
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e todo o que ten David é este bastón.
06:31
Well, let's start there with the phrase
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Bueno, comecemos dende aquí coa frase
06:33
"All David has is this sling,"
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"Todo o que ten David é este bastón",
06:35
because that's the first mistake that we make.
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porque este é o primeiro erro que cometemos.
06:38
In ancient warfare, there are three kinds of warriors.
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Nas guerras antigas, hai tres tipos de guerreiros.
06:42
There's cavalry, men on horseback and with chariots.
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Está a cabalaría, homes a cabalo e homes en carros.
06:45
There's heavy infantry, which are foot soldiers,
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Está a infantería pesada, formada por homes que van a pé,
06:48
armed foot soldiers with swords and shields
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soldados armados con espadas, escudos
06:51
and some kind of armor.
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e algún tipo de armadura.
06:53
And there's artillery, and artillery are archers,
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E está tamén a artillaría, onde están os arqueiros
06:56
but, more importantly, slingers.
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pero, máis importante aínda, os tirafondas.
06:58
And a slinger is someone who has a leather pouch
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Un tirafondas é alguén que ten unha bolsa de coiro
07:01
with two long cords attached to it,
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con dous cordeis longos,
07:04
and they put a projectile, either a rock or a lead ball,
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poñen o proxectil dentro da bolsa, dende unha roca a unha bola de plomo,
07:07
inside the pouch, and they whirl it around like this
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logo enróllano así,
07:10
and they let one of the cords go,
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soltan unha das asas,
07:13
and the effect is to send the projectile forward
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e o efecto é o de enviar o proxectil
07:17
towards its target.
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cara ó seu obxectivo.
07:20
That's what David has, and it's important to understand
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Iso é o que ten David, e é importante entender
07:23
that that sling is not a slingshot.
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que ese tirafondas non é un tirapedras.
07:26
It's not this, right? It's not a child's toy.
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Non é iso, vale? Non é un xoguete de nenos.
07:28
It's in fact an incredibly devastating weapon.
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De feito é unha arma incriblemente devastadora.
07:32
When David rolls it around like this,
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Cando David enrosca as asas así,
07:35
he's turning the sling around probably
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está xirando a fonda probablemente
07:38
at six or seven revolutions per second,
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a seis ou sete revolucións por segundo,
07:41
and that means that when the rock is released,
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o que significa que cando lanzas a roca,
07:45
it's going forward really fast,
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esta sairá disparada,
07:47
probably 35 meters per second.
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probablemente a 35 metros por segundo.
07:49
That's substantially faster than a baseball
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Isto é substancialmente máis rápido que un tiro
07:52
thrown by even the finest of baseball pitchers.
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de béisbol, incluso do mellor lanzador.
07:56
More than that, the stones in the Valley of Elah
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Ademáis diso, as pedras do val de Elah
08:00
were not normal rocks. They were barium sulphate,
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non eran rocas normais. Eran de sulfato de bario,
08:03
which are rocks twice the density of normal stones.
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rocas co dobre de densidade dunha pedra normal.
08:06
If you do the calculations on the ballistics,
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Se facedes os cálculos de balística,
08:09
on the stopping power of the rock fired from David's sling,
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do poder de parada da pedra que tirou David dende a súa fonda,
08:13
it's roughly equal to the stopping power
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é case o mesmo que o poder de parada
08:15
of a [.45 caliber] handgun.
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dunha pistola de calibre 45.
08:18
This is an incredibly devastating weapon.
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É unha arma incriblemente devastadora.
08:21
Accuracy, we know from historical records
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Precisamente, sabemos por escritos históricos
08:26
that slingers -- experienced slingers could hit
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que os tirapedras -- os tirapedras expertos podían alcanzar
08:30
and maim or even kill a target at distances of up to 200 yards.
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e mutilar ou incluso matar un obxectivo a distancias de máis de 180 metros.
08:36
From medieval tapestries, we know that slingers
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Polos tapices medievais sabemos que os tirapedras
08:39
were capable of hitting birds in flight.
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eran capaces de alcanzar paxaros voando.
08:42
They were incredibly accurate.
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Eran incriblemente precisos.
08:44
When David lines up -- and he's not 200 yards away from Goliath,
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Cando David se coloca -- e no está a máis de 180 metros de Goliat,
08:48
he's quite close to Goliath --
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está bastante preto de el--
08:49
when he lines up and fires that thing at Goliath,
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cando David se pon en formación e dispara esa cousa a Goliat,
08:53
he has every intention and every expectation
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ten toda a intención e toda a esperanza
08:56
of being able to hit Goliath at his most vulnerable spot
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de ser capaz de darlle no seu punto máis vulnerábel,
08:59
between his eyes.
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entre os ollos.
09:00
If you go back over the history of ancient warfare,
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Se repasamos a historia das guerras antigas,
09:02
you will find time and time again
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imos atopar unha e outra vez
09:05
that slingers were the decisive factor against infantry
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que os tirapedras eran o factor decisivo contra a infantaría
09:09
in one kind of battle or another.
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nun tipo de batalla ou noutro.
09:14
So what's Goliath? He's heavy infantry,
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Entón que é Goliat? É infantaría pesada,
09:18
and his expectation when he challenges the Israelites to a duel
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e as súas espectativas ó retar ós Israelitas a un duelo
09:23
is that he's going to be fighting another heavy infantryman.
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eran as de loitar contra outro infante forte.
09:27
When he says, "Come to me that I might
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Cando di, "Achégate a min que vou
09:29
feed your flesh to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field,"
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alimentar coa túa carne ós paxaros dos ceos e ás bestas da terra"
09:32
the key phrase is "Come to me."
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a frase clave é "achégate a min".
09:34
Come up to me because we're going to fight,
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Achégate porque imos loitar,
09:36
hand to hand, like this.
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man a man, así.
09:38
Saul has the same expectation.
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Saúl ten a mesma expectativa.
09:40
David says, "I want to fight Goliath,"
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David di: "Quero loitar contra Goliat",
09:42
and Saul tries to give him his armor,
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e Saúl intenta darlle a súa armadura,
09:44
because Saul is thinking, "Oh, when you say 'fight Goliath,'
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porque está pensando, "Oh, cando dis 'loitar contra Goliat',
09:47
you mean 'fight him in hand-to-hand combat,'
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queres dicir 'loitar con el nun combate man a man',
09:50
infantry on infantry."
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infantaría contra infantaría."
09:52
But David has absolutely no expectation.
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Pero David non ten ninguna expectativa en absoluto.
09:55
He's not going to fight him that way. Why would he?
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Non vai loitar contra el desa forma. Por qué ía facelo?
09:58
He's a shepherd. He's spent his entire career
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É un pastor. Pasou toda a súa vida
10:01
using a sling to defend his flock against lions and wolves.
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usando un tirapedras para defender o seu rabaño contra leóns e lobos.
10:05
That's where his strength lies.
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Aí é onde reside a súa forza.
10:07
So here he is, this shepherd, experienced
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E aí está, este pastor, experto
10:09
in the use of a devastating weapon,
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no uso dunha arma devastadora,
10:11
up against this lumbering giant
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contra este torpe xigante
10:14
weighed down by a hundred pounds of armor
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sobrecargado por máis de 45 kilos de armadura
10:17
and these incredibly heavy weapons
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e polas armas incriblemente pesadas
10:18
that are useful only in short-range combat.
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que só son útiles nos combates a pouca distancia.
10:22
Goliath is a sitting duck. He doesn't have a chance.
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Goliat é unha presa fácil. Non ten ningunha oportunidade.
10:26
So why do we keep calling David an underdog,
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Entón por que seguimos dicindo que David ten as de perder,
10:29
and why do we keep referring to his victory as improbable?
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e por que seguimos referíndonos á súa vitoria como improbable?
10:35
There's a second piece of this that's important.
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Hai unha segunda peza nisto que é importante.
10:38
It's not just that we misunderstand David
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Non é só o feito de que malinterpretamos a David
10:41
and his choice of weaponry.
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e a súa elección de arma.
10:43
It's also that we profoundly misunderstand Goliath.
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Tamén malinterpretamos profundamente a Goliat.
10:46
Goliath is not what he seems to be.
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Goliat non é o que parece.
10:50
There's all kinds of hints of this in the Biblical text,
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Na Biblia temos todo tipo de indicios sobre isto,
10:54
things that are in retrospect quite puzzling
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cousas que, se miramos atrás, son bastante desconcertantes
10:56
and don't square with his image as this mighty warrior.
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e non cadran coa súa imaxe de guerreiro poderoso.
11:00
So to begin with, the Bible says that Goliath
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Entón, para comezar, a Biblia di que
11:04
is led onto the valley floor by an attendant.
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un acompañante guiou a Goliat ata o val.
11:08
Now that is weird, right?
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Isto é raro, non?
11:10
Here is this mighty warrior
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Aquí está este forte guerreiro
11:12
challenging the Israelites to one-on-one combat.
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retando ós Israelitas a un combate corpo a corpo.
11:15
Why is he being led by the hand
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Por que vai collido da man,
11:17
by some young boy, presumably,
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seguramente dun mozo novo,
11:20
to the point of combat?
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ata o lugar do combate?
11:23
Secondly, the Bible story makes special note
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En segundo lugar, a historia da Biblia fai fincapé
11:27
of how slowly Goliath moves,
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no despacio que se move Goliat,
11:30
another odd thing to say when you're describing
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algo raro que dicir cando estás a describir
11:32
the mightiest warrior known to man at that point.
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ó guerreiro máis forte coñecido polo home ata ese momento.
11:36
And then there's this whole weird thing
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E tamén está a extraña historia
11:38
about how long it takes Goliath to react
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sobre a cantidade de tempo que tarda Goliat en reaccionar
11:42
to the sight of David.
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cando ve a David.
11:44
So David's coming down the mountain,
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David está baixando a montaña,
11:47
and he's clearly not preparing for hand-to-hand combat.
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e claramente non está preparado para un combate man a man.
11:51
There is nothing about him that says,
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Non hai nada nel que diga,
11:53
"I am about to fight you like this."
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"Estou a punto de loitar contigo así".
11:55
He's not even carrying a sword.
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Nin sequera leva unha espada.
11:57
Why does Goliath not react to that?
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Por que Goliat non reacciona ante isto?
11:59
It's as if he's oblivious to what's going on that day.
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É coma se non fora consciente do que estaba pasando ese día.
12:03
And then there's that strange comment he makes to David:
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E entón faille un comentario rarísimo a David:
12:07
"Am I a dog that you should come to me with sticks?"
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"Son un can para que veñas cara a min con paos?"
12:12
Sticks? David only has one stick.
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Paos? David só ten un bastón.
12:15
Well, it turns out that there's been a great deal
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Bueno, resulta que houbo unha grande
12:18
of speculation within the medical community over the years
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especulación na comunidade médica ó longo dos anos
12:21
about whether there is something
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básicamente sobre se hai algo
12:23
fundamentally wrong with Goliath,
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malo en Goliath,
12:26
an attempt to make sense of all of those apparent anomalies.
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un intento de darlle sentido a todas esas aparentes anomalías.
12:30
There have been many articles written.
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Escribíronse moitos artigos sobre isto.
12:31
The first one was in 1960 in the Indiana Medical Journal,
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O primeiro publicouse en 1960, no Xornal Médico de Indiana,
12:35
and it started a chain of speculation
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e comezou unha cadea de especulación
12:37
that starts with an explanation for Goliath's height.
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que empeza cunha explicación para a altura de Goliat.
12:40
So Goliath is head and shoulders above
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Goliat sácalle a cabeza e os ombros
12:43
all of his peers in that era,
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a todos os seus colegas da época,
12:45
and usually when someone is that far out of the norm,
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e normalmente cando alguén se sae tanto da media
12:49
there's an explanation for it.
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hai unha explicación para iso.
12:51
So the most common form of giantism
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Polo tanto a forma máis común de xigantismo
12:54
is a condition called acromegaly,
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é unha condición chamada acromegalia,
12:57
and acromegaly is caused by a benign tumor
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2903
e a acromegalia cáusaa un tumor benigno
13:00
on your pituitary gland
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2503
na glándula pituitaria
13:02
that causes an overproduction of human growth hormone.
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2716
que causa unha sobreprodución da hormona de crecemento humano.
13:05
And throughout history, many of the most famous giants
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E ó longo da historia, moitos dos xigantes máis famosos
13:09
have all had acromegaly.
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tiveron acromegalia.
13:10
So the tallest person of all time
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Así, a persoa máis alta de todos os tempos
13:12
was a guy named Robert Wadlow
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foi un tipo chamado Robert Wadlow
13:14
who was still growing when he died at the age of 24
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que seguía crecendo cando morreu con 24 anos
13:17
and he was 8 foot 11.
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e medía 2'70 m
13:20
He had acromegaly.
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Tiña acromegalia.
13:21
Do you remember the wrestler André the Giant?
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Acordádevos do loitador André o Xigante?
13:24
Famous. He had acromegaly.
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Famoso. Tiña acromegalia.
13:26
There's even speculation that Abraham Lincoln had acromegaly.
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Existe incluso a especulación sobre que Abraham Lincoln tiña acromegalia.
13:30
Anyone who's unusually tall,
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Calquera persoa que sexa inusualmente alta,
13:31
that's the first explanation we come up with.
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esta é a primeira explicación á que chegamos.
13:34
And acromegaly has a very distinct set of side effects
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A acromegalia ten diferentes tipos de efectos secundarios
13:38
associated with it,
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asociados a ela,
13:39
principally having to do with vision.
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e principalmente teñen que ver coa visión.
13:43
The pituitary tumor, as it grows,
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O tumor da pituitaria, ó crecer,
13:46
often starts to compress the visual nerves in your brain,
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normalmente comeza a comprimir os nervios visuais no cerebro,
13:50
with the result that people with acromegaly
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có resultado de que a xente con acromegalia
13:53
have either double vision or they are profoundly nearsighted.
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ten ou visión dobre ou son profundamente miopes.
13:58
So when people have started to speculate
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Polo tanto, cando a xente comezou a especular
14:01
about what might have been wrong with Goliath,
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sobre o que puidera ir mal en Goliat,
14:04
they've said, "Wait a minute,
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911
dixeron, "Esperade un minuto,
14:05
he looks and sounds an awful lot like someone
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ten a apariencia e soa unha barbaridade como alguén
14:08
who has acromegaly."
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1573
que ten acromegalia."
14:10
And that would also explain so much of what was strange
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E isto explicaría tamén moitísimo do que era extraño
14:12
about his behavior that day.
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sobre o seu comportamento ese día.
14:15
Why does he move so slowly
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Por que se move tan despacio
14:16
and have to be escorted down into the valley floor
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e ten que baixar ó val escoltado
14:20
by an attendant?
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por un acompañante?
14:21
Because he can't make his way on his own.
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Porque non pode recorrer o camiño el só.
14:24
Why is he so strangely oblivious to David
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Por que extraña razón non presta atención a David
14:28
that he doesn't understand that David's not going to fight him
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e non entende que David non vai loitar con el
14:30
until the very last moment?
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ata o último momento?
14:32
Because he can't see him.
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Porque non o pode ver.
14:35
When he says, "Come to me that I might feed your flesh
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Cando dí, "Achégate a min que coa túa carne alimentarei
14:38
to the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field,"
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ós paxaros dos ceos e ás bestias da terra,"
14:41
the phrase "come to me" is a hint also of his vulnerability.
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a frase "achégate a min" é unha pista da súa vulnerabilidade.
14:45
Come to me because I can't see you.
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Achégate a min porque non te podo ver.
14:48
And then there's, "Am I a dog that you should come to me with sticks?"
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5214
E despois temos, "Son un can para que te achegues con paos?"
14:54
He sees two sticks when David has only one.
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Ve dous paos cando David só ten un.
14:59
So the Israelites up on the mountain ridge
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Así, os Israelitas que estaban na cresta da montaña
15:02
looking down on him thought he was
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mirábano e pensaban que era
15:04
this extraordinarily powerful foe.
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3111
un rival extraordinariamente poderoso.
15:07
What they didn't understand was that
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O que non entendían era que
15:09
the very thing that was the source of his apparent strength
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a razón da súa aparente forza
15:12
was also the source of his greatest weakness.
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3755
era tamén a fonte da súa maior debilidade.
15:16
And there is, I think, in that,
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1957
E aquí temos, eu creo,
15:18
a very important lesson for all of us.
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unha lección moi importante para todos nós.
15:21
Giants are not as strong and powerful as they seem.
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Os xigantes non son tan fortes e poderosos como poden parecer.
15:25
And sometimes the shepherd boy has a sling in his pocket.
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E ás veces o pastorciño ten unha fonda no seu peto.
15:29
Thank you.
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Grazas,
15:30
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Subtítulos: Laura Rodríguez López
Subtítulos: Laura Rodríguez López
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Malcolm Gladwell - WriterDetective of fads and emerging subcultures, chronicler of jobs-you-never-knew-existed, Malcolm Gladwell's work is toppling the popular understanding of bias, crime, food, marketing, race, consumers and intelligence.
Why you should listen
Malcolm Gladwell searches for the counterintuitive in what we all take to be the mundane: cookies, sneakers, pasta sauce. A New Yorker staff writer since 1996, he visits obscure laboratories and infomercial set kitchens as often as the hangouts of freelance cool-hunters -- a sort of pop-R&D gumshoe -- and for that has become a star lecturer and bestselling author.
Sparkling with curiosity, undaunted by difficult research (yet an eloquent, accessible writer), his work uncovers truths hidden in strange data. His always-delightful blog tackles topics from serial killers to steroids in sports, while provocative recent work in the New Yorker sheds new light on the Flynn effect -- the decades-spanning rise in I.Q. scores.
Gladwell has written four books. The Tipping Point, which began as a New Yorker piece, applies the principles of epidemiology to crime (and sneaker sales), while Blink examines the unconscious processes that allow the mind to "thin slice" reality -- and make decisions in the blink of an eye. His third book, Outliers, questions the inevitabilities of success and identifies the relation of success to nature versus nurture. The newest work, What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, is an anthology of his New Yorker contributions.
He says: "There is more going on beneath the surface than we think, and more going on in little, finite moments of time than we would guess."
Malcolm Gladwell | Speaker | TED.com