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Old 08-11-2014, 11:03 AM   #41
simply Nathan
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

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Originally Posted by RogerBW View Post
Kenneth, I know people who think that adult bicycling experience should be a prerequisite for a driving licence, because drivers who've bicycled as adults tend to be more considerate towards cyclists, but I don't know anyone who'd argue that one skill depends on the other. I'd certainly never cycled before I learned to drive.
Yeah, these people come across more as believing that knowing how to steer, heed road signs, and the like are things you are supposed to study as a child on bicycle rather than learning them as an adult in a car. Even though the vehicles don't resemble each other at all in their input.

I was simply never inclined as a child or teenager to use a bicycle. There were no places I wanted to go where I could reach them on bicycle more easily than on foot, I was not very big on speed, I fell over and hurt my leg the first time I tried and failed to use one without training wheels and decided to give up on the device, etc.

I couldn't get a permit for learning to drive a car before the age of 18 because I wasn't in the public schooling system or a large, formal private or charter school; I didn't finally get enough practice to pass my test until the age of 24 because most people who owned vehicles were uneasy about letting me have a chance to learn. I probably have a point or two in the Hiking skill and either a single point or a decent Dabbler in Driving. As it is, I walk about five miles to and from my place of employment because I can't afford to purchase, maintain, or feed a vehicle.
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Old 08-11-2014, 10:34 PM   #42
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

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Oh, and as always: average people are average and Driving is an Average skill: 1 point in it means rolling against a 9 for any "average" action. Depending on where you're changing the tire, it might even qualify as "adventuring" conditions (fast, busy freeway, remote areas with wildlife that probably won't investigate but you can't be sure of, bad part of town, etc.).
Not really on topic, but I find this train of thought that seems to be prevailing that "average people" are strictly average in everything very weird. While the median of all people may be an "average" statistic of around 10, all people are different and almost everyone excells at something. "Average people" are not merely useless bystanders, except in games where the players play characters like Superman and fight foes like Cthulhu. That's why I find threads that put "average people" in the 0 to -50 point range frankly ridiculous. In my mind, a 0 point character is a cripple or a baby, not an "average person".

Sorry, I just felt that I had to point this out. It was something that was bugging me.
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Old 08-11-2014, 10:41 PM   #43
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

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I was simply never inclined as a child or teenager to use a bicycle. There were no places I wanted to go where I could reach them on bicycle more easily than on foot, I was not very big on speed, I fell over and hurt my leg the first time I tried and failed to use one without training wheels and decided to give up on the device, etc.
There's an adage in horse riding around here that says: "One hasn't learned to ride a horse until one has fallen from the saddle about a hundred times."

It's more or less the same with bicycles. I think the bicycle is a wonderful vehicle when one masters it, especially for travelling. There's nothing quite like roaming the countryside on a bike. But, then again, I'm already predisposed to it. =P
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Old 08-12-2014, 02:14 PM   #44
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

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Not really on topic, but I find this train of thought that seems to be prevailing that "average people" are strictly average in everything very weird.
1) Average people, by definition, are average. If they are not average... then they are not average.

2) The only person that, in recent memory, has suggested "average people" are strictly average in everything is... you (admittedly to refute it).

My comment in no way meant that average people (and my understanding is it isn't just a mean value, but likely the median and mode) have to have Skill 9 in everything. Someone made a comment about allowing a Driving based roll to change a tire, then wondering if that wasn't right since a lot of people still call for assistance. I was putting forth reasons why, including that anyone Driving without really investing in Driving (and remember, a level as low as 12 is "professional"), would feel the need to do so.
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Old 08-12-2014, 09:19 PM   #45
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

Cracked once pointed out how smart a post-apocalyptic hero would be to use a vehicle that doesn't require fuel and can be maintained more or less indefinitely with very simple tools.
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Old 08-12-2014, 09:25 PM   #46
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

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1) Average people, by definition, are average. If they are not average... then they are not average.
The important thing to remember is that typical is not a synonym of average.

The average person has slightly less than 2 legs (since people with 0 or 1 leg vastly outnumber people with 3 or more). Also, the average person has one testicle and will give birth to 2% of a child this year.
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Old 08-12-2014, 10:36 PM   #47
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

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The important thing to remember is that typical is not a synonym of average.

The average person has slightly less than 2 legs (since people with 0 or 1 leg vastly outnumber people with 3 or more). Also, the average person has one testicle and will give birth to 2% of a child this year.
Slightly fewer than one testicle as some men lack one or both pushing the percentage below 50% of two.
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Old 08-12-2014, 11:05 PM   #48
simply Nathan
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

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Slightly fewer than one testicle as some men lack one or both pushing the percentage below 50% of two.
Indeed, even the occasional men with a third do not outnumber those that have one or fewer.
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Old 08-13-2014, 12:28 PM   #49
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

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Originally Posted by Tiggurix View Post
That's why I find threads that put "average people" in the 0 to -50 point range frankly ridiculous. In my mind, a 0 point character is a cripple or a baby, not an "average person".

Sorry, I just felt that I had to point this out. It was something that was bugging me.
There's only one thread that I can think of that matches that description, and we settled this issue years and years ago in that same thread. Are you sure you read it thoroughly? tl;dr - Call it whatever you want, it's the very low-point character thread (which I, for the record, create characters for who are good at what they do on a semi-regular basis, when I'm not just documenting funny RL people, thanks)
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Old 08-13-2014, 05:00 PM   #50
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Default Re: [Basic] Skills of the week: Bicycling, Driving and Piloting

For whatever it may be worth: The "official" take is that ordinary folks weigh in at between 25 and 50 points. Fewer than 25 points is explicitly called out as too feeble and unsuitable for most people, while up to 200 points is accepted as plausible for real – if not average – individuals. See p. B487.

I've never seen a claim that GURPS recommends making average or ordinary people worth 0 or fewer points! That sounds like a novelty thread, nothing more.
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