User talk:Tennessee Ernie Ford/Rants/Reliability of in-game source material

Gwen's Wedding

I think it's pretty clear that Nick is in fact a friend of Gwen's (and presumably was invited to the wedding) in light of the fact that Gwen herself says Nick is an old friend during the pre-picnic Thackeray dialogues in the HoM. I'm sure someone else has pointed this out before, but I just thought I'd make sure. ;-) 64.15.81.27 20:29, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

Pretty clear? I dunno. But it does look like I exaggerated the discrepancy on that particular topic (I missed the relevant dialogue).

Unfortunately, that highlights the point I'm trying to make: we draw too many conclusions from too little data too often. We assume everyone is telling the truth all the time (and not, as is more often the case among people, using hyperbole, bragging, disinformation, or just mistaken). Nick says a lot of odd things, especially if you look at his speeches in aggregate. It seems reasonable to consider that he might be imagining non-existent friendships and making up stories to give us a reason to trade with him; it's pretty standard post-traumatic stress behavior, especially for someone who wanders off into the desolation with no company except a Yak. – Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 08:14, 13 December 2011 (UTC)