Day 40

Began working on my survivor thesis paper. Bulletin points that i really want to hit on. These include:

• Season 27 White Rock situation
• Different types of emotion
• Nash equilibrium

IDEAS FOR PERSONAL STRATEGIC SHOW:

-Every contestant starts out with a certain amount of money and somehow some interactions occur to where one winner walks away with all of the money.

-saboteur!

Day 39

I contacted other potential judges for my thesis today and filled out my thesis judge list. The people I have contacted include:
Mr. Brown, a psychology teacher who also has experience in game theory.
Betina Fehr, a psychiatrist who works with diagnosing veterans.
Kayleen Langat, a counselor who is also a big Big Brother fan. (Big Brother is another CBS reality show that is very similar to Survivor)

I think these judges have roots in psychology so can cover the persuasion aspect of my thesis well, but they are diverse enough to where they can cover the other aspects of my thesis (Survivor, and game theory).

day 38

Today, I landed my first thesis judge. Mr. Brown! He is an AP psychology teacher and as part of that curriculum he talks about game theory.

I also today created a schedule in order to guarantee I do not procrastinate. These self-imposed deadlines will help me make sure my thesis is as great as it can possibly be instead of rushing to try to cram it all in or spending too much time researching and not enough time actually creating the final product.

Day 37

The new cast of Survivor was released! Today I continued to go through their bios and videos to see if their character traits could influence their placement in the game. Here are some of my thoughts.


BRAINS

PETER BAGGENSTOS

Okay, this guy looks weirdly like Obama. I'm glad he knows it because HOLY CRAP its ridiculous. I also greatly admire his tiny patches of gray hair and felt a strong kindred spirit when he said he watched 4 youtube videos on building fire and thought it looked hard so he gave up. His voice sounds like it belongs to a 20 year old really struggling to work through a math problem in college though. Now, clearly this guy should have what it takes to go far. Smart, handsome, not "bro-ey" (God forbid according to his bio). But I think he is SO clearly your winner that he is going to be a target amongst this cast of superfans. 

prediction: early merge boot

JOSEPH DEL CAMPO

Excuse me while I pray for the next 20 minutes that I look as good as he does when I am in my 70s. I honestly would have guessed he was 20 years younger until I saw that he listed an iPod as one of the items he would bring on the island. Then I was reminded that he truly is not "of this generation." He's as tan as a nice strip of leather, has a double last name, and I am so ready to watch him on my screen. He seems so personable and incredibly fit but, unfortunately, perception is 9/10 of the law on Survivor and the gray hair alone I think leaves him in an unwinnable situation.

prediction: early pre-merge (Come on cast of superfans! Don't be that predictable!)

AUBRY BRACCO

This girl was a hard one for me. When I watched her video, I was totally sold and thought I might have my winner pick. But the more I read and watched, she seemed a little too preoccupied with the notion that she is "quirky and weird and omg I'm not like anybody else." Hate to break it but that is annoying. Her personal claim to fame is that her name means "leader of the elves." Don't even get me started on all of the reasons why that should NOT be your claim to fame. How many elves have you led exactly? Did you name yourself when you popped out of your mother's womb? Or did you spring into this world through the pointed ear of an elf? My name means "one who is like God" and even I wouldn't put my name's meaning as a claim to fame.

prediction: This is probably my most volatile prediction. Because she could be out early. But I'm going with late merge. Once she gets to the merge she's virtually untouchable. 

Elisabeth Markham

I was 100% sold on her. Ready to sign the paper as my winner's pick. But then she goes and picks damn Parvati as the contestant she is most like. NO GIRL NO! Quantative Strategists who graduate from MIT are supposed to be fans of the show! Not the generic recruit who are told to mark Parvati! Elisabeth! Come on girl! I really thought we were supposed to have a good thing going here. 

prediction: late merge boot. 

BRAWN

Darnell Hamilton

Move out of the way Brice Isaiah, J'Tia, Drew Christy, Zane Knight, and Wendy Jo! The pantheon of "gone too soon" is about to be crowned a new leader. I am in love. Sign me up. I am ON board the Darnell Hamilton train. The things he would bring on the island are a pair of sunglasses to hide from the ugly contestants (check), iPod to tune the haters out (double check) and a pack of cigarettes (triple check because we might have the modern day Shane Powers experiencing withdrawals right before our eyes). 

prediction: early pre-merge (as I wallow in tears on my couch)

CYDNEY GILLON

 I cannot with anybody who has alter egos. I didn't even realize that was one of my "things" but after watching her video, it is totally one of my "things." She was great at talking to the camera but a girl who has chosen to make a career as a body builder is just so fundamentally different from who I am that I will never be able to relate. Also, she has already declared that she hates my kind by renouncing all "overly-weak" people. Sorry Cydney, we just weren't meant to be.

prediction: Too much of a physical threat and the alter egos are just too weird if they come out. Late pre-merge boot.

Scott Polard

I wanted to hate him. I really really did. But it seems like we got another Cliff Robertson. Just a nice, tall guy. THAT BEING SAID. I can totally see this guy having anger issues. Can't you? I was hoping for a Jeff Kent kind of guy who is willing to go hard at the game and fight 150,000% but unfortunately, Scott does not seem like the guy. However, he's not going to hide he was in the NBA. Smart. Everybody would have assumed it anyway.

prediction: mid pre-merge boot.

Day 36

The new cast of Survivor just went up! As I have previously established in blog posts, personality is incredibly hard to change. It is nearly impossible in fact. It takes so much hard work under normal conditions that under conditions such as the ones in Cambodia, it becomes even more difficult to hide who you truly are. That is why I have decided to give some comments on some of these new players to see if their personality quirks could maybe shape their placement in the game (it is after all a social game).
BRAWN

Alecia Holden

For a girl who claims to be MagYver levels of incredible, she sure does have the most boring job in the world. I mean, come on, real estate agent? If I could list the top 20 most generic reality TV jobs ever and that would have come in at number two right behind "pharmaceutical sales rep." She says she will be most like Kass. Uh huh honey. Sorry, but NOBODY can ever be the queen.

prediction: I want to say first boot but she is on brawn and they might not lose the first challenge. So I'll go with the easy "early pre-merge"

KYLE JASON

I am literally terrified of him. Is "Bounty Hunter" the scariest job description in this history of Survivor? Probably. That being said, I loved him iso much. He seemed shockingly intelligible and it is a well known fact that "one uppers" are the most annoying things on the planet so I know he is smart. If this truly is the second coming of Russel Hantz, I think we are in for a great season.

prediction: loosing finalist

BEAUTY

Nick Maiorano

Well well well. We have who might possibly be the most polarizing contestant (I have no grounds to state that, I just feel that is what will be the case.) Definitely the most narcissistic (oh wait he's not narcissistic because he's at least faking his interest while everyone else actually IS disinterested). And definitely the most obnoxious person on the cast to listen to. BUT I hold the faith with Mr. Nick. And that is because he is probably the biggest superfan on this season. Everyone else has supposedly seen every episode, but he's actually blogged about it. He legitimately knows the game inside and out. And anyone who refers to Courney Yates and Jonathan Penner in their bios, I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt. The good thing about this guy is that he's either going to flame out spectacularly in the first few episodes or flame out later, desperately trying to pull the biggest move this game has ever seen.

p.s. anyone get a Max Dawson-ish vibe from him?

prediction: merge boot. 

CALEB REYNOLDS

 BYE BYE BYE *NSYNC plays softly in the background over my wails.* Of ALL the people to cast from BB16 WHY Beast Mode Cowboy? (That being said, take this CBS as my personal thank you note that I am not typing Frankie Grande on here). I wish it could have been Zach Rance. But whatever. It is what it is. I would love these superfans to vote Caleb out as a joke but I know that is not going to happen. Caleb played a blindly loyal game on Big Brother and is a known physical guy who should contribute in challenges. I think he will be dragged along by someone. The only reason I think he will be cut before the final tribal council is for one of two reasons: 1) he is too likable and nobody wants that at the end or 2) someone takes a shot at him as someone's right hand. 

prediction: I think he and Nick will be a tag team but Caleb is going to go further and be a late merge boot.

JULIA SOKOLOWSKI

First of all, I heavily relate to this girl so I'm going to be nice. She says she has seen every episode of Survivor and applied the moment she turned 18. I want her to do well simply because of that. I would love her to kick the "Natalie Tenerelli and Spencer Duhmn" legacy of young people doing horribly. However, as I have previously stated, perception is 9/10 of the law. And I just ultimately don't see anybody giving her credit for any move in the end, even if it is deserved, simply because of her age. As well, the first few days are so desperately tied to physical performance and social bonds that I am not sure Julia will be able to excel in either category due to her young age.

prediction: losing finalist

TAI TRANG

 I know people are already gung ho over him, but man I was not ready for him. I expected him to be annoying as all get out and the person I would simply have to put up with. LIKE JANE BRIGHT! The "fan favorite" that made me want to sit in a dark room and listen to a CD recording of nails on a chalkboard for hours. But he was strangely endearing in his video. As long as there are not too many moments with him, I think I can handle it.

prediction: pre-merge