I didn't want to start a new topic so I'll post it here.
Ricardo has been on the island (off the ship) for a day and knows more then all the others combined. He knows how the Black Rock got to the middl eof the jungle, what happened to the statue, where Jacob lives, that MiB is Smokey, what Jacobs role on the island is, Jacob brought him and others before him to the island for a galactic test, why he hasn't aged in 150 years, who was captain of the Black Rock. I am sure there is more this is all I can think of. It took the rest of the islanders 5 seasons to get the knowlege Richard received in 1 day.