the annual potluck in our estate was held today, and there was the usual assortment of tasty delights, and kids running everywhere and skinning their knees, and the first hints of fall in the slightly chilly air. at the end of the meal, the brother and the housemate and i mused over the fact that some of the dishes had been completely cleaned out, while there was still food in several others. the Theory was this: that for dishes pre-cut into discrete portions, people feel less shy about taking the last piece than for dishes that are not. because: without pre-slicing, a form of zeno's paradox operates, where increasingly smaller pieces can get cut off from the remainder of the dish without a person feeling like they've been the greedy bastard who took the last portion. supporting evidence: pre-sliced lasagna (finished), unsliced shepherd's pie (unfinished), pre-sliced chocolate cake (finished), various salads (unfinished), etc. experiments need to be run.