In my opinion, acquiring skills is far too easy, and, dare I say it, boring.
I think it would be better if skills went up with the amount you do whatever it is you are working towards. It would mean the speed at which you learn it would change depending on how much you actually want to practise the skill. I still like the idea of needing to have particular skills to get other ones, and favour from the giants speeding it up though.
I don't know, just an idea :)
(sorry if this has been posted before...)