Yes! It’s weird for me when a sim I create suddenly gains a programming skill. Like my intent is for them to be more of a technophobe, but they work on a school project and gain a skill point in something they shouldn’t care about.
And in the sims 3, there were traits like “good sense of humor” or “no sense of humor.” But in ts4 comedy is a skill: anyone can be funny whether it is in their character or not.
If there was a way to control interests, it could affect out-of-the-blue skill gains, which I would love. So if my sim has ZERO interest in comedy, they can watch comedy on TV and not gain the skill. They can make baaaad jokes and not get any better at humor.