Provisional Order on Chips Bag Air
The bag is large. The contents are not large. The gap between the bag and the chips has been experienced before and will be experienced again.
PROVISIONAL ORDER ISSUED BY: The bag opening moment SUBJECT: Chips bag air — ongoing complaint EFFECTIVE: Every time
Background
The snack bag is sealed with nitrogen gas, which preserves freshness and prevents crushing. The nitrogen is not a deception. It is functional. The chips are intact because of it. This has been explained many times and is known to the person opening the bag.
The Complaint
The person opening the bag has, based on the bag's exterior dimensions, developed an expectation about the quantity of chips inside. This expectation is formed despite knowing that the bag contains gas. The expectation is held in a separate part of the mind from the knowledge.
When the bag opens and the gas escapes, the expectation and the knowledge briefly collide. The expectation had posited approximately 70% chips. The reality is approximately 30% chips. The disappointment is proportional to the gap.
The Provisional Order
No change is ordered because no change is available. The nitrogen is doing its job. The chips are intact. The quantity is the quantity.
The provisional order acknowledges, officially, that the emotional experience of the air escaping is not proportional to its informational content. The person already knew about the air. The air's presence is still, briefly, a surprise.
The Pattern
This experience has been had before. It will be had again. The bag design has not changed. The expectation mechanism has not changed. The disappointment is consistent across approximately one hundred bag-opening events in the person's documented history.
The chips are fine. They are in the bottom of the bag, which is the bottom third of the bag, which is surrounded by a much larger bag. The chips are fine.
The order is issued. Nothing changes. The next bag will be the same.