Hearing Concerning Second Serving Denial
A formal hearing into the matter of a stated refusal followed by continued small-quantity consumption.
CHAIR: This hearing is convened to examine the matter of second serving denial. The witness is present. Let the record reflect that the bowl is also present, and is approximately one-third full.
WITNESS: I already said I was done.
CHAIR: The record shows you said that. The record also shows that following that statement, you consumed an estimated forty grams of food directly from the serving bowl over a period of eleven minutes.
WITNESS: That was just tasting.
CHAIR: The committee notes that this is the fourth time the word "tasting" has been entered as a procedural category in this context. We would like to understand the distinction between tasting and eating.
WITNESS: Tasting is when you're not hungry but you just want a little.
CHAIR: And eating?
WITNESS: Eating is when you take a proper serving.
CHAIR: A small workaround has been created for second serving denial. The workaround is called tasting. The workaround produces a second check designed to confirm the first one worked: the statement "I'm done" is followed by behavior that determines whether the statement was accurate. The behavior then establishes that it was not.
WITNESS: I was done in principle.
CHAIR: The committee acknowledges this distinction and finds it insufficient.
WITNESS: There's still some left in the bowl.
CHAIR: There is. Soon the ordinary action has a parallel administrative system built around second serving denial. The system includes: the initial refusal, the grace period during which the bowl is not cleared, the tasting phase, and the eventual acknowledgment that a second serving has, in practical terms, occurred.
WITNESS: I wouldn't call it a second serving.
CHAIR: We have noted what you would call it.
Appetite explains the setting, but the behavior continues even when appetite no longer requires it. Under the governing rule, second serving denial may continue indefinitely once everyone knows how to work around it.
WITNESS: Can I have the last of that?
CHAIR: The bowl is yours.
WITNESS: Thank you.
CHAIR: Hearing adjourned.