Admit it, you were shocked. Stunned. Bewildered. Astounded.

How could it happen? When host Jeff Probst opened that last piece of paper and it read "Rich," you wondered: How could that fish-impaling, back-stabbing, arrhythmic-dancing Richard win the million-dollar booty? He wasn't genuine, he wasn't sympathetic, he wasn't even remotely likable. Why did he win?

Here's why: he was smart. The game came down to a battle of numbers (literally), and Richard, who appropriately wore black on the post-show hobnob, played the numbers brilliantly.

Let's break it down mathematically. Two tribes of eight each. The two groups seemed to be divided among post-Gen X slackers and older, more pragmatic members. The Pagong tribe had hang-loose dudes like Gervase and Joel, whereas the Tagi tribe had no-nonsense worker bees like Rudy and Susan.

Richard simply allied...