Hearing Concerning Stair Pace Desync
Transcript of proceedings convened to establish whether stair pace adjustment constitutes a valid social obligation.
Hearing Transcript: Stair Pace Desync Presiding: Chair Witness: The Person Who Changed Speed
CHAIR: State, for the record, what occurred.
WITNESS: I was on the stairs. Going up. A person was beside me, also going up. We were matching pace. I noticed this.
CHAIR: You noticed the matching.
WITNESS: I noticed it and it became uncomfortable.
CHAIR: Describe the discomfort.
WITNESS: It felt like we were together. We were not together. We were strangers on stairs who happened to be moving at the same speed.
CHAIR: And you changed speed.
WITNESS: I slowed down. Slightly. Enough to fall out of sync.
CHAIR: Did this resolve the discomfort?
WITNESS: Yes. We were no longer matching.
CHAIR: Did the other person notice?
WITNESS: I don't know. Probably not. They kept walking at the same speed.
CHAIR: Which means you are now walking more slowly than is comfortable for you, in order to avoid a synchrony that the other person was unaware of.
WITNESS: Yes.
CHAIR: Was the physical space insufficient for two people walking at the same pace?
WITNESS: No. The stairs were wide.
CHAIR: Was there any collision risk?
WITNESS: No.
CHAIR: The behavior protects social comfort even when the physical space would work perfectly well without it.
WITNESS: That is an accurate description.
CHAIR: A small workaround was created. The workaround produced a second check: looking sideways to confirm you were now out of sync.
WITNESS: I did do that, yes.
CHAIR: You checked that the workaround worked.
WITNESS: Yes.
CHAIR: And if you encounter this situation again?
WITNESS: I will do the same thing. I know I will do the same thing.
CHAIR: Under the governing rule, if stair pace desync prevents one awkward moment, the behavior must remain available for future cases. You are now carrying a behavioral procedure you did not plan to develop, for a situation that did not require a procedure.
WITNESS: When you say it like that.
CHAIR: I am not saying it any particular way. I am reading the record. Do you have anything to add?
WITNESS: It would have been weird if we'd kept matching.
CHAIR: Noted. The ordinary action now has a parallel administrative system built around it. This hearing is adjourned.
No further testimony was taken. The stairs in question are located in a building both parties continue to use.