This guy was a hoot! We tasted some of his humour in the mordant wit of his comments on the show in progress, which were made to the camera, but whether on the phone or in person, he's just a delight to talk with.

Advertisement

He's naturally witty and warm with no pretence about it and has that splendidly slanted and somewhat twisted view of human behaviour that sees what is weird in all of us. At the risk of tarring a guy already burdened with a hang-up about being a lawyer, I'd say he also has the outlook of a really good and experienced shrink.

The analyst and strategist
He was by far the most successfully analytical player and coolly reviewed each player and their motives and reactions. But he was also one of the most warm towards his competitors.

"I knew where Mandla stood and would have felt happy for him to have won," he said. He had a good alliance which endured remarkably well and with more stability than usual.

He's realistic in his assessments, though and said," If my plans had worked out so well we wouldn't have faced a 4/4 split." He emphasised that "we had good fortune". But although the old saying insists that fortune favours the brave, I believe that it's more accurate to say that fortune favours the prepared - those who can recognise and use a lucky opportunity when it turns up.

How to really play the game
"Dyke was a strong and good player, but you also need the luck to go your way," he said, and added, "I played a game that was ruthless, in the nicest sense, and covert". Except regarding Rijesh and Angie.

His sensible perspective must have helped greatly and he admitted he never confused who he was during the game with who he is usually, at home. That's a vital perspective which most other reality TV players miss entirely.

Even when at their most phoney, they keep insisting on how "real" they are being. Generally they are fooling themselves (something I suspect Grant does very rarely if ever). And where they are not fooling themselves, they are rendering themselves unnecessarily vulnerable and allowing their private lives to become contaminated by "the game".

I suspect most such claims to "being real" are actually attempts to excuse whatever they might do in the name of the "game" rather than taking any personal responsibility for their choices and actions.

'You're not there to be loveable'
He said he didn't worry about "moral issues" because these were situations which arose within the unreality of a game, and he said he didn't worry about how he was perceived either. Except for the powerful reluctance to be known as a lawyer!

He admitted he was extremely competitive, but said he was also very attentive to the rule; "I don't break the rules - without the rules, there can be no strategy, no game".

He added, "I'm not an unpleasant person, but I wasn't there to be loveable."

(Professor M. A. Simpson, aka CyberShrink, November 2007)
 

Print this article

Rate this article Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

JOBS

Senior Manager:Human Capital Operations R26,000-47,000 Per Month Cost To Company South Africa Accountant R170,000-200,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng - North/Sandton Property Analyst R20,000-25,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng - West Rand Senior Financial Analyst R500,000-600,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng Project manager R450,000-600,000 Per Annum Cost To Company Gauteng Senior Designer - Horizons Inflight Magazine Western Cape - Cape Town Internal SAP DBM Consultant Gauteng - Johannesburg TREASURY ACCOUNTANT Gauteng - Johannesburg Find more jobs Register your CV Post a job