No it's not. The ability to build friendships and alliances is a skill that can be used in a strategic way, but in and of itself, social skills are not the same things as strategy AT ALL.
Again, I didn't say social skills are the same as strategy. Stop putting words into my mouth. I said the social game is inherently strategic. Of course there are aspects of strategy that aren't social.
The way you treat people is strategic. How you act around other people is strategic. It is all the "social game" but it is all strategic. Every moment in Survivor is a strategic moment. Last season, Stephen said he noticed Kelley was doing something as mindless as washing the rice pan and picked up information on it. EVERYTHING is strategic in nature. Boston Rob puts a lot of stock into who people sleep next to. Every single thing is strategic.
I mentioned he's weak at strategy AND challenges and I also mentioned his big mouth so there are at least two factors there that have not a damn thing to do with him being a better strategist than me.
Since when does performing well at carnival games make you a good player? I guess half of the players are not good because they can't stand on a log with a block on their head for 3 hours.
You also mentioned "it's so obvious to me" "it's the obvious move". Congrats for seeing things in hindsight, I guess?
Rodney was not the only person who was willing to work with Dan after he split with Mike so your comment about Rodney being the only one is flat out wrong.
Solid Straw Man I never said Rodney was the only one. This is like the 4th time you've put words in my mouth and then attacked those words. Maybe respond to what I actually wrote?
Although I do admit to reading what you said wrong when you said "my God, it wasn't just Rodney...", I thought you had said "my God, it wasn't Rodney...", so my assertation that you didn't watch the season was based on you dismissing Rodney's efforts because there is NO WAY you could've watched the season and not noticed Rodney's attempts to flip Dan.
I said that it is something that Rodney did. The others did also, it doesn't change the fact that Rodney did.
From /u/m4milo's confessional archive from that episode:
- Rodney (1/3): What Mike was saying was true, but I just got to use it to my advantage, so I'm going after what I need right now, which is Dan's vote.
and:
- Rodney (2/3): If this wasn't Survivor, I'd go tip top toes with Mike and battle it out with him like real men do in the street. But, hey, this is Survivor and I just gotta beat him with my mind, I gotta beat him with my wit and because of what he done, he made my job easy.
After the auction, Dan was in tears with his letters. Rodney stayed by his side while he cried about missing his wife and talked about how Mike "broke his heart", which is exactly what I was referring to when I said:
I also recall him taking advantage of Mike's blunder at the auction by solidifying his alliance with Dan and using that emotional moment to make sure Dan stuck with him and not Mike (which resulted in the cringe fest cheering on Rodney that Dan did in that one challenge Mike and Carolyn won).
Tyler and Carolyn weren't there cheering him up while he's crying alone or crying next to Rodney. JUST Rodney took advantage of that moment. JUST Rodney saw that opportunity and took it. And my God, it was JUST Rodney that Dan was cheering for in the immunity challenge in the next episode when it was Mike versus Rodney holding the rope in the water weight challenge, which I was referencing when I said:
I also recall him taking advantage of Mike's blunder at the auction by solidifying his alliance with Dan and using that emotional moment to make sure Dan stuck with him and not Mike (which resulted in the cringe fest cheering on Rodney that Dan did in that one challenge Mike and Carolyn won).
So clearly I knew what I was talking about when I said it the first time.
Also, your claim that Carolyn, Rodney and Will was a naturally occurring alliance is laughable. So three people on separate original tribes, two of which were on the same tribe previously but not working together, is a naturally occurring alliance? So Carolyn was lying when she said:
Carolyn (3/4): As soon as we got on the beach, Rodney he's like, “Final Four, it's us. We're tight, we're going to go there.” In his plan, he's got me, Will, Kelly and Rodney Final Four. The thing is, he's still a Blue, and he's still going to vote with them. But it's nice to hear that I'm wanted in a Final Four.
You're right, that is exactly what someone who is in a naturally occurring alliance would say.
I don't care to discuss this with you any longer because it's clear you have a personal vendetta against Rodney. Just say you don't like him, but your claims to try and say he's not good at the game are just laughable. In your eyes, he should have won more challenges to be considered good which is just mind-boggling. And you say he's weak strategically despite me giving you several examples where I showed you he's capable of making social-strategic decisions to advance his position in his tribe with several different people. It's not my fault you don't appreciate the value of a social game and how that affects a player's overall game. Just say you hate Rodney. But do so elsewhere because I have no interest in reading or replying to you any longer.