Your brain and the neural pathways are physical constructs: learning to program reconditions/re-patterns your brain toward computer programming aptitude.

Strength and Stamina are vague concepts that are collective skill cross-training, created through mastery of skills and techniques. On that note, skill is just the coordination of strength, stamina, dexterity, and mental technique. "Talent" is merely inherent skill. Furthermore, skill isn't about "How" you can do something, but "what" you can do.

Personally, I hated the GCD, because it took away the last vestige of direct control of character development.

Not really.
You knew which skills had the greatest effect on particular attributes so if you wanted to increase that attribute you used/trained that attribute. Simple enough.

Actually, I prefer MADD Leveler for most of my MW characters, but go with GCD for "specialists" that focus heavily on one talent. MADD Leveler takes away 70-80% of your direct character control, but leaves you with a few points of discretionary leeway to steer your character, while still making the skills you choose to use the most important part of character progression. Like GCD, most of the Attribute increases happen seamlessly along the way during the course of the game; unlike GCD, you still have the vanilla level-up screen and three single points that you can place into whichever 3 Attributes you prefer. Its main drawback is that it marginally accellerates level-up, whereas I most enjoy those "not yet uber" stages of the game where the character is starting to feel confident, but is still vulnerable to many of the challenges in the game, and hate to see the character improve too rapidly.

Something along these lines could have made Attributes work smoothly without locking the character into a "can't use the skill because it's too low, and can't improve it if I don't use it" situation, and gotten rid of the annoying "Multiplier" race in the process.

Also, the brain and neural pathways may be physical constructs, but the information that they hold is NOT. Both physical and informational aspects are included in "Skills", and trying to dismiss the latter part, even for "physical" activities like combat, is to ignore the obvious. Information alone is not enough, but in the case of Computer Programming, being "inclined through practice" to quickly and easily learning the concepts does not equate to actually knowing those concepts and specific details, along with all of the "quirks" and special cases that run counter to what's intuitive.

Skyrim character development hyped as being,''grow into your role''. So you wont actually HAVE a role until you are fully grown! /joke

What ticks me off the most about Skyrim is that you cannot start the game as anything but a lowlife know-nothing vagabond. You can't start as a mage, a thief, a blacksmith, a knight, or even a guy who likes to talk to people a lot. Everyone has the same damn starting skills, you can't roleplay NOTHING until you actually are like halfway through the game.

''dur hurr.... man u have to click teh stone to get ur class hurr...''

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1255662-list-of-spells/

Streamlining doesn't even begin to describe it. Gutting like a kipper would be a better phrase. Half the spells on that list are just strong versions of previous spells. And people said we'd get "better and more unique spells! Shut up, spellmaking was overpowered and terrible! No one actually used it anyways!", they said, as the horde of Morrowind players talked about how they used spellmaking.

You can't combine spells, you can't make spells, and you need a perk to even dual cast them? New and improved my ass. We don't even get the small victory of keeping our utility spells like water walking, charm, or even getting a nice return like teleportation. Nope, its just pretty much all combat oriented.

Remind me why this game is still called an RPG?

My Skyrim will be an RPG once I get my hands on the creation kit! :thumbsup:
A LOT of things could be fixed simply by expanding the skills and perks. Spellmaking will make a return as soon as people learn the knew scripting language in the CK.