A fellow in front of me riding a fixed gear with slick tires and no brakes skidded on a layer of slush and snow to slow down just before he made a right turn.

I don't know all the mechanics of skidding on a FG, but that just seems really unsafe to me.

Or maybe since in any skid you've already lost traction in the rear wheel, it doesn't matter that the road surface is more slick? Maybe it'll just take longer to slow down? I dunno. I don't think I'll ever understand though why someone wouldn't use a front brake at least.

I think the last time I skidded on purpose was when I was about 11 years old.