Is this being irrational?

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So we bought three slices of cheesecake.

Cheesecake is difficult to cut because of the texture. When I was cutting it in half, the cheesecake became a glob of cheesecake instead of a slice.

She said she did not want to eat it any more.

Was she being irrational?

Its still cheesecake... but a lot of people have issues with the look and/or texture of their food besides the way it smells & tastes.

If the person has sensory issues with texture I think that would be a rational reason to reject the food... though it's a waste. But if they don't have issues I'd say its being ridiculous. I myself can't eat linguini & cheesecake is generally too heavy for my stomach.

Of course she was irrational!

But because irrationality is a major part of human behavior, your question KevinLA, sounds irrational
(but I recognize myself so much in your question!)

In order to explore the rational reason for the irrationality (as Peko has underlined) I invite you to read the blog of Dan Ariely
danariely. com
or to see a video of him explaining behavioral economics:
fora.tv/2010/06/07/Dan_Ariely_The_Upside_of_Irrationality#fullprogram

EDIT: start with the video, he sums it up really well

She was being irrational. I would have eaten it.

Depends on how mangled you left it and whether you used your hands to hold it still whilst cutting it....

Possible reasons not to want to eat mashed cake:

1) If it's mashed up it's more prone to fall off the fork or plate and land on clothes while trying to eat it. Were you eating in public?

2) She didn't want others assuming she eats in an "undignified manner." The Queen might've been watching or something.

3) Were there forks involved, or was this an on-the-street-and-holding-a-piece-of-cake-with-a-napkin and taking bites out of it kind of situation? If eating some cake required a shower afterwards, and there wasn't a usable one nearby, I'd probably turn it down, too.

4) The tranquilizers in the cake don't work when exposed to air.

5) The shape of the cake formed a directional antenna for the micro-transmitter inside of it. If cleanly divided into 2 sections it still works, but if mashed, it becomes useless.

6) Perhaps she had a traumatic childhood accident involving misshapen cake.

Think of it this way - more cake for you!

In fact, if I were you, I'd suggest to cut every pizza, cake, even ice cream and make sure I mess it up.

Yes, it is irrational. My response would have been, "fine, I'll eat it then".

I wouldn't have eaten it, and the OP would have been welcome to eat it.

Was she being irrational? No.
She was doing things her way, and had a reason.

Were you responsible for any kind of fault? No.
You were attempting to divide a cake, and oops it squashed.

Maybe you could have let her try to slice the next piece on her own. To see how hard it is to do.

That would be my only suggestion. Seeing that the same thing happens when SHE tries the same project might prove to her that there's nothing crazy about "muddled cake"

Or you could have tried making a game of it:
Why won't you eat it? It's not cheesecake anymore. What kind of cake is it? It's SQUASHEDcake! I wonder what it tastes like? Wanna try some?

She sounded very picky to me and wants things to be perfect. As a child my brother and I refused to eat popsicles that were broken. Everything had to be perfect. But as I got older, I quit caring. Who cares if a piece of cake isn't perfect nor a piece of pie or a popsicle. If something is crushed I won't eat it.

mmmmmmcheesecake

Having said that - I have been in food service for 44 years and a lot of people have strange behavior when it comes to food. I just accept some of the odd that is irrational to me but rational to them.

Next time, don't cut it at room temp and run the knife under hot water then cut

Is she trying to have a diet? The shape of the cake might have become an incentive not to eat it