Malcolm Gladwell visits KSL to talk about underdogs, faith and David and Goliath


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SALT LAKE CITY — Best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell visited the KSL studios Tuesday and spoke with Deanie Wimmer about his new book "David and Goliath."

Gladwell was a guest of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah earlier in the day and spoke to a sold-out audience at Abravanel Hall Tuesday night.

TED Talk: David and Goliath

"Tonight I'm going to tell a story — that is not in my book, but relates to it — about a very remarkable woman named Alva Smith," Gladwell said.

Smith was a socialite who used her wealth to promote voting rights for women in the early 1900s.

"The book talks about 'What is an advantage, really?' What I argue is that our idea of advantages and disadvantages have gotten all mixed up. There are certain kinds of disadvantages that could actually be desirable. What good things could come from struggle?

"The book ends with the question 'What kind of power does religious faith give people?' I tell two stories about people who made extraordinary decisions because of their religious belief — and I have to say that writing those two chapters had an extraordinary effect on my own feelings, my own beliefs about religious faith."

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