Each weekday, EW will post the answers from a different player.
Unfortunately, a pregame mishap out by the water gave his competition plenty of ammunition to use against him.
Right now, we’re working hard on some cool projects for companies and government agencies.
Christian Hubicki on ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’.Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images
It’s been busy but it’s been a blast.
What is your proudest moment ever from playingSurvivor?
It was also important that I kept a respectful attitude under the pressures of the game.
Christian Hubicki on ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’.CBS
In those moments, I would remind myself that this is the end of someone’s dream.
That seemed the respectful thing to do, even though it was hard at times.
What is your biggest regret from yourSurvivorexperience?
Gabby Pascuzzi and Christian Hubicki on ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’.
I do my best to be self-compassionate, so I don’t feel much regret about the show generally.
Misreading his intentions, trusting him too much, not recognizing his narrative and political control, etc.
I thought I could convince him I was his most effective ally for maneuvering to the end.
The cast of ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’.CBS
It never worked, and I should have spent that time working withDavie.
A greater factor, though, was my self-image at the time.
To me, a guy with a PhD didn’t seem to fit the theme of an underdog.
Christian Hubicki on ‘Survivor: David vs. Goliath’.Robert Voets/CBS
Jeff justified it in promotions that I was bullied, which I found an exaggeration.
Only now am I accepting that many of those people were just being mean.
So there was more truth in what Jeff said about me than I was able to admit.
Being so overly critical of my own strengths directly impacted my game.
It’s hard to simultaneously be self-critical and judge yourself as threatening.
It was more a statement of my interests and tastes.
My self-criticism obscured to me what other players found obviousalgorithms must mean I’m smart.
Smart equals a threat.
Jeff monologued that I had “written a paper” about slide puzzles.
Meanwhile, my tribe was guffawing at my correction.
“It’s not a paper, it’s an algorithm!”
But do I regret it?
I don’t think so, because it’s just who I was at the time.
All I can do is give myself more credit in the future.
Blowing minds is a high bar, but a few untold experiences come to mind.
I need them since my lens prescription is -9.0 (i.e., horribly nearsighted).
I lost one before the day 9 immunity challenge carrying in the tribe flag.
I was down to my last pair by my final day of the game.
I could recount Elizabeth’s many camp engineering projects, including her infamous rock-and-rope boat anchor.
Instead, I’ll flash back to the beginning of the gameand even a bit before that.
The pregame is an underreported surreal experience.
While hanging out at a Fijian resort sounds nice and relaxing, I found it simultaneously boring and stressful.
The key reason: Nobody is allowed to talk.
We settle into our wordless Ponderosa routines while observing our currently nameless competitors.
I still remember it all.Gabbyserene with her book.
Alison studiously taking notes at a picnic bench.Patfinger strumming to music only he can hear.
Jeremy in silent command of the beanbag chairs.
And a certain business school graduate negotiating alliances via the surreptitious exchange of water bottles.
As for me, I’m doing anything I can to avoid attracting attention or looking stupid.
I assumed this is when everyone is looking for a good first boot candidate.
I put a lot of thought and energy into appearing normalwith mixed success.
At first I sat at a table working on aSleigh Bell Sudokubook.
But the book was also a ruse.
This way it looked like I had nothing to hide.
But the relaxing effect was temporary.
I noticed that some contestants would sit on the edge of the boat dock to watch the fish.
I decided to give it a venture to help me stay calm.
My flip-flop flopped in the ocean 150 feet from the shore.
So began a panicked calculation.
Should I abandon the flip-flop, leaving a visible drifting monument to my clumsiness?
I concocted a solution where I’d fix this myself without breaking the rules.
He gave me the go-ahead, not realizing what he’d just done.
The water was quite shallow, so I could wade in and only get my bottoms wet.
So I planned to wade in quick, grab it, come back, no fuss.
And if anyone noticed, I’d be the guy who confidently gets things done.
As soon as I stepped in the water, I realized my miscalculation.
While the shore was sandy and smooth, the undersea floor consisted of loose baseball-sized rocks.
This made every step its own individual and unique indignity.
Somehow I stumble my way out 150 feet (according to Google Earth) and retrieve the flip-flop.
At this point another producer took notice of my quest and talked to me from the dock above.
He was helpless to make my return voyage any easier, and it wasn’t.
Once I finished bumbling back to the beach, I could finally assess how many people noticed.
The answer: everyone.
Quiet stares from the entire cast.
I could feel the judgment and could only guess at the political damage.
He reassured me that people tend to forget these things once they hit the beach.
Only then did he confess, “When the flip-flop thing happened, I thought you were screwed.”
How do you feel about the edit you got on the show?
I feel incredibly fortunate for my edit for so many reasons.
I could go on forever about all the little things I’m happy made it on national TV.
To my surprise, I even got a bunch of episodes titled after my quotes.
After the interview was over, I wasn’t sure which I said, and probably would never know.
Sure enough, “Charmpocalypse” was in the title of the episode, immortalizing my mistake on IMDB.
Above all, I’m happiest about my portrayal as a scientist.Survivordeserves a lot of credit here.
Instead they portrayed science as a kind of superpower, and an interesting way to look at the world.
These are some dedicated folksfolks with the sound of my voice embedded in their skulls.
This was shocking to both of us because my girlfriend Emily was my top conversation topic around camp.
It was so intense that actual celebrities, like HBO-show famous, would publicly speculate about our love lives.
What was it like coming back to regular society after being out there?
Was there culture shock or an adjustment coming back?
I was also worried I’d pee on trees out of habit.
Thankfully, neither happened.
Instead, I came back almost Zen, detached from my previous problems and concerns.
Plus, you suddenly have 19 new friends that consume your social calendar.
All of which can make you seem alien to your friends and family.
But that all gradually fades as you spend more time in your normal world.
I was also paranoid about sleep for a while.
I was used to going to bed with a mental map of who is sleeping where in the shelter.
That’s adaptive, so you know if someone got up early to talk strategy.
because I wasn’t used to her being there.
That said, there were times before filming that I had to consider backing out.
The reasons were entirely career-related.
I was partly concerned about reputational risk.
Could stuffy academics take me seriously if they saw me running around an island in my underwear?
I also had some evidence of this.
Reputational questions aside, there was also a timing issue.
I was slated to leave in four weeks forSurvivorand I was in the middle of job search season.
It was always my goal to be a professor, and those openings are rare and competitive.
The timing ofSurvivorwas such that after I got back, all the jobs would likely be taken.
I communicated the scheduling issue withSurvivorand they had to process an alternate for me just in case.
Thankfully, my now-employer wanted me badly enough that they were willing to rush the process.
I signed the job offer letter the day I left for Fiji.
In hindsight, it feels crazy that I nearly passed up this opportunity.
As a bonus, I got to hear all the wild speculation about where I was going.
One of the signatories on my leave form was particularly curious.
He ran into me and said, “My wife is a huge reality TV fan.
So, I know you’re going to be onThe Bachelorette.”
Whom do you still talk, text, or email with the most from your season?
I talk with Gabby a lot, of course.
We can talk for hours about anything without breaking a sweat.
I like keeping in touch with my fellow David tribe members.
I’ve also enjoyed exchanging updates with Nick, Carl, and Elizabeth whenever I get the chance.
In fact, I just had a conversation with Mike that blew me away.
Mike confirmed to me this was true!
I was floored, because you could argue that his decision changed the entire trajectory of my game.
More surprising was his reason for the change.
Mike White, a showbiz man by trade, thought that I was a plant for CBS.
Specifically, he thought I was a ringer the online grid placed onSurvivorto cross-promote the sitcomThe Big Bang Theory.
Jeff’s enthusiasm toward me only added to his suspicions of a corporate tie-in.
I believe thatSurvivoris a game of beautiful ironies.
you’re free to be too strong to win.
So unlikable that people want you to stay.
People reward the very players who stabbed them in the back.
This game is phenomenal.
I do still watch the show.
For me, it’s still hard to topSurvivor: Cagayan.
So much character, great game fluidity, and yet you stay glued to it through all the twists.
Who’s one player from anotherSurvivorseason you wish you could have played with or against and why?
My quick answer is alwaysTony Vlachos.
That would be a thrill ride I’d never want to stop.
I would add that I wish I could have been the third wheel on theSophie ClarkeandYul Kwonnerd-shield alliance.
They are bothsharp, and I’d want their acceptance and validation.
I would also enjoy playing with someone with an earnest intensity likeJeremy Collins.
If you could make one change to any aspect of Survivor, what would it be and why?
I would let the players be the primary drivers of the evolution of the show.
Variance is important to the long-term success of theSurvivor.
it’s possible for you to achieve that variance with novel game mechanics like nullifiers or tokens.
A casting theme can give a season a unique stamp.
Final Tribal Council is a good example.
But I thinkSurvivorhas already solved this problem with increasingly phenomenal casting.
Now they cast ambitious players looking to make their mark.
These modern casts don’t need convincing to keep the game moving and shaking.
If you always have a tight and satisfying story, it would be boring and predictable.
As such, I’m excited to see what kind of stories emerge from post-pandemicSurvivor.
Finally, would you play again if asked?
Here’s the long answer.
It depends on my career stage and what I’d want from the experience.
Second, I take a stab at think about why I applied forSurvivorin the first place.
If I’m honest with myself, it was never about the million dollars.
I’m content with my career path and money has never been a big motivator for me.
I also thought it would be a lot of fun, and it was more fun than I expected.
Would it be as fun the second time?
Hard to say, but I’d hope so.
I felt I did that onDavid vs. Goliath.
What I didn’t expect was how rewarding it was to play and work with fascinating people.
It was inspiring, and even gave me tons of ideas for my robotics research.
Some of those ideas are helping propel my lab right now!
And maybe this time nobody spreads rumors I’mon The Bachelorette.
To keep track of our dailySurvivorQuarantine Questionnaires and get all the latest updates, check outEW’sSurvivorhuband followDalton on Twitter.
