Skozen's page

Bear in mind that this does not actually limit you to gathering information about "the events and major figures of any region you are in." Since there are telecommunications and internet networks in this setting, a major settlement such as Absalom Station could very well be home to countless information brokers and other intel sources.

The way I read that ability, it definitely does limit you to gathering information about events and major figures that aren't in whatever region you're in. It says "the events and major figures of any region you're in." When you're in Absalom station, are you in the vast? Or you on Apostae? The ability specifically says the target event or major figures you want to learn about have to be in the same region as you. Since quantum superposition isn't really a thing for individuals in Starfinder, you cannot be in two places at once and therefore can't be on Absalom Station and also on another planet at the same time. When you're on Absalom Station, you can learn all kinds of neat things about the stuff going on in that region with ease, and that's a cool ability, but being on Absalom Station doesn't let you survey knowledge from far-off places with the same aplomb. Simply put, the locals in Absalom Station know far more about the goings-on of Absalom Station than they do Apostae. However, if you manage to get to Apostae and interact with the locals without hostility, you can quickly get an excellent idea of major players and events, which is a really great ability to have in a member of your crew.

I'm all for getting rid of the ability scores. 90% of the time, they're just extra math in an already somewhat burdensome and clunky system. But, they're important for character generation when you roll for stats. I can't think of a single other use that couldn't be served by just using the modifier:
-instead of 13 strength for power attack, +1 strength mod required (I know it's not the same, but the difference is pretty unimportant)
-ability score damage could be 1d2 +1 per 4 levels of modifier instead of 1d4 +1 per 2 levels of score (it's always annoying to recalculate after damage)

The #1 criticism I hear of Pathfinder is its clunkiness due to excess D20 baggage. I'm all for trimming the fat where possible. If the argument to keep ability scores is only 'but mah nostalgia', is it really worth keeping? Another question to consider: is Starfinder meant to incorporate a new audience, or appeal only to the existing Pathfinder audience? I'd say a new version of the system with a different setting is the perfect opportunity to streamline some fundamentals, just like getting rid of arcane vs divine casters.