Can PCs really swap ANY skill at a Minor Milestone?

Question

I am reading the "The Long Game" chapter of the Fate Core System book and one thing is not totally clear to me. On page 256, when - speaking about minor milestones it is said:

Switch the rank values of any two skills, or replace one Average (+1) skill with one that isn’t on your sheet.

Here, "any two skills" seem to indicate that it is possible to swap really any two skills on the character sheet, even a Legendary for an Average. However the second part of the sentence (Average vs. Nothing) would then seem inconsistent, by limiting the swap between "adjacent levels" in the pyramid. The example that follows do not resolve this ambiguity as they are about swapping Good and Fair, also levels of the pyramid that are one on top of the other.

Furthermore, from a narrative standpoint, I would argue that this being a minor milestone, it makes little sense for somebody who was a thug (Great fight, Average lore) to suddenly become Einstein (Great lore, Average fight).

Should I interpret "any two skills" as "any two skills on adjacent rows"?

Answer 1

Any means any, but Fate Core includes some suggestions.

This is a good way to make slight character adjustments, if it seems like something on your character isn’t quite right […] or any of those changes that keep your character consistent with the events of play.

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In fact, you should almost always be able to justify the change you’re making in terms of the game’s story. […] GMs, you’re the final arbiter on this, but don’t be so much of a stickler that you sacrifice a player’s fun for consistency.