Hearing Concerning Unknown Neighbor Recognition
A formal proceeding into the practice of sustained facial familiarity without any exchange of names.
CHAIR: This hearing is convened to examine the matter of unknown neighbor recognition. The subject recognizes a neighbor's face with regularity. Neither party has learned the other's name. The behavior has continued for an extended period. We will hear from the subject.
WITNESS: I see them most mornings. We have made eye contact. There is acknowledgment. I don't know their name.
CHAIR: When did you first recognize the neighbor's face?
WITNESS: Weeks ago. Maybe months. You don't notice when it starts.
CHAIR: At any point did you consider introducing yourself?
WITNESS: At the beginning, yes. There was a window. The window passed. After the window, introducing myself would require acknowledging that the window had passed, which is a longer interaction than not introducing myself.
CHAIR: You are describing a secondary problem created by delay in resolving the original problem.
WITNESS: I'm describing the situation as it exists.
CHAIR: Note for the record: the subject's account is consistent with the standard trajectory of unknown neighbor recognition, wherein the initial cost of introduction is low and increases with each subsequent contact in which no introduction occurs, eventually exceeding the cost of the original introduction by a factor the subject cannot calculate but can feel.
WITNESS: That's correct.
CHAIR: And you have made one minor adjustment to manage this?
WITNESS: I time my departures differently sometimes. Not always. It depends.
CHAIR: The adjustment has become part of your expected sequence.
WITNESS: I wouldn't call it a sequence.
CHAIR: The record will note that the adjustment adds time to every repeat. Under the governing rule, correcting unknown neighbor recognition requires more authority than repeating it. Nobody formally agreed on this rule. Repeated proximity made it operative. The hearing is concluded.
Finding: Unknown neighbor recognition is sustained by a mechanism common to all behaviors that become harder to change with each repetition. No violation is recorded. No remedy is assigned. The matter is referred back to the parties for continued management.