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Old 07-16-2018, 08:23 AM   #21
whswhs
 
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Default Re: Link an historical character to the cited advantage

As far as high IQ is concerned, the two people I've seen proposed as examples of it are Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and John Stuart Mill. Mill may have been too narrowly focused on intellectual and scholarly qualities to fit the GURPS meaning of the expression (GURPS IQ ≠ "intelligence" or IQ), but Goethe is a plausible example: poet, playwright, novelist, scientific theorist, courtier, international traveller. . . .

For Eidetic Memory, Matteo Ricci, one of the first Jesuits to visit China, seems like a good example; when I researched him for Who's Who I read about his doing impressive memory feats.
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Old 07-16-2018, 08:27 AM   #22
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Default Re: Link an historical character to the cited advantage

What GURPS calls "lightning calculator" seems to be a cinematic ability. I copy edited a study of a calculating savant for Historia Mathematica. He was an illiterate black slave on an 18th century Virginia plantation. There was a case where he was given two very long numbers (I think sixteen digits or so) to multiply. He went about for a week, doing his chores, and then came in and reeled off an answer, which turned out to be correct. It took him a while! What he actually seems to have had was more like "Eidetic Memory (Aspected, Numbers, -20%)": He could actually retain both those big numbers and the intermediate products in his memory, even while distracted or sleeping.
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Old 07-16-2018, 08:31 AM   #23
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Default Re: Link an historical character to the cited advantage

No human being has Sensitive Touch. Its best example is the star-nosed mole, whose nose has a pattern of innervation comparable to that of the retina, and is capable of ten times the tactile resolution of the human fingertip. That's beyond the range of possible human variation.
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Old 07-16-2018, 08:40 AM   #24
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Default Re: Link an historical character to the cited advantage

Isn't transcendant a supernatural advantage?
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Old 07-16-2018, 09:23 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
What GURPS calls "lightning calculator" seems to be a cinematic ability. I copy edited a study of a calculating savant for Historia Mathematica. He was an illiterate black slave on an 18th century Virginia plantation. There was a case where he was given two very long numbers (I think sixteen digits or so) to multiply. He went about for a week, doing his chores, and then came in and reeled off an answer, which turned out to be correct. It took him a while! What he actually sewas more like "Eidetic Memory (Aspected, Numbers, -20%)": He could actually retain both those big numbers and the intermediate products in his memory, even while distracted or sleeping.
While that may have been the case for him, the ability isn't cinematic in the sense that you only see it in the movies with the aid of a good writer/researcher. The name eludes me after all these years but during the 1973-1974 academic year at McMaster University, I and some 300 other students observed a 30-minute demonstration by a "lightning calculator". The questions were posed by members of the audience and included long sums, large number multiplication, and calculating a new day and date given a day and date and a distance in tens of thousands of days or more, as well as calculating square and cube roots to a dozen places, among other problems. A few things did stymy her, such as accounting for changes between Gregorian dates and Julian dates (no reference point), but there were several times when we had to wait for the electronic desktop calculator to catch up with her in order to verify her answer. I don't know if she could have performed those calculations that quickly if she actually had to flee for her life at the same time, but I'd be very leery of betting that she couldn't.
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Old 07-16-2018, 09:30 AM   #26
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While that may have been the case for him, the ability isn't cinematic in the sense that you only see it in the movies with the aid of a good writer/researcher. The name eludes me after all these years but during the 1973-1974 academic year at McMaster University, I and some 300 other students observed a 30-minute demonstration by a "lightning calculator". The questions were posed by members of the audience and included long sums, large number multiplication, and calculating a new day and date given a day and date and a distance in tens of thousands of days or more, as well as calculating square and cube roots to a dozen places, among other problems. A few things did stymy her, such as accounting for changes between Gregorian dates and Julian dates (no reference point), but there were several times when we had to wait for the electronic desktop calculator to catch up with her in order to verify her answer. I don't know if she could have performed those calculations that quickly if she actually had to flee for her life at the same time, but I'd be very leery of betting that she couldn't.
I haven't encountered a scholarly writeup of such an ability, or personally seen it. But given that you have, let's say just that there's also a different ability that amounts to eidetic retention of numbers, and that allows certain calculating feats as a side effect, without being what GURPS calls Lightning Calculator.
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Old 07-16-2018, 11:01 AM   #27
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Default Re: Link an historical character to the cited advantage

For Dexterity and/or {possibly} Health , Jacky Chan would have to be getting near the limit of Human potential .

Whilst the stunts He performs certainly have a high skill requirement , the sheer number of them He does flawlessly even when injured and the obvious difficulty involved would take an enormous amount of raw dexterity . The clincher would be if He also has lots of fine motor control in His fingers {say if He picks up calligraphy , model building or other such "fiddly stuff" easily} .

As for the Health , given the number of injuries He has sustained , He should by all rights be a physical wreck by now , yet appears to be in better condition than the vast bulk of physically active Men half His age {and seems to have quite a lot of endurance} . Maybe not the peak of G.U.R.P.S. Health , but I'd say a potential contender .
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Last edited by Mr Frost; 07-16-2018 at 11:03 AM. Reason: You can't handle the reason !!11one1!!
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Old 07-16-2018, 11:20 AM   #28
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Default Re: Link an historical character to the cited advantage

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Originally Posted by GodBeastX View Post
Isn't transcendant a supernatural advantage?
Since Appearance (Transcendent) is equivalent to attributes at fifteen (IQ 15, ST 15, etc.), it is very uncommon (Bests among historical bests), but it is not supernatural at all.
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Old 07-16-2018, 11:35 AM   #29
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Default Re: Link an historical character to the cited advantage

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Originally Posted by Alonsua View Post
Since Appearance (Transcendent) is equivalent to attributes at fifteen (IQ 15, ST 15, etc.), it is very uncommon (Bests among historical bests), but it is not supernatural at all.
The only reference I see is :

Quote:
Originally Posted by Basic p 21
The GM is free to
reserve this trait for angels, deities,
and the like.
So, not necessarily supernatural, but not necessarily human either.
I suppose Helen of Troy is the obvious answer, but historicity is debatable ... that or [insert favourite movie star].
If it is allowed for human, should we use modern opinion on beauty or period one ? Without Universal, appearance is extremely tied to race and culture.

Last edited by Celjabba; 07-16-2018 at 11:46 AM.
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Old 07-16-2018, 11:39 AM   #30
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Default Re: Link an historical character to the cited advantage

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Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson.



Known for his raw athleticism and ability to just pick up sports and excel in them. A true generalist. Competed in both MLB and NFL, and rejected a career in track and field after competing at the national level. He was said to just make difficult tasks look natural.



You could build him with a talent for sports, but I suspect he's best built with a huge pile of RAW DX.
As a Kansas City native, I can say we often had mixed feelings about Bo. While he played for the Royals (yay) he also played for the hated Raiders (boo).

Also in a 12 month period he was in both the MLB All Star Game and the NFL Pro Bowl, so yeah, I totally agree with him being a DX machine.
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