[tad_tough_anne]

Don't all younger Americans do this? Cutting food and pushing it onto the fork requires less dexterity than conveying it to one's mouth. I know Boomers who put down their knives after each cut (never using them to push) and swap their fork around before using it tines-down, and I think it's more comically affected than the tea–pinky thing.

[0x3f]

You're not supposed to use the fork like a shovel, is the thing. The tines are to skewer the food, which is why tines-down makes sense. Otherwise, why not a spoon?

Also, the at-distance interaction between two tools requires much more dexterity than making your hand meet your mouth. The latter you should be able to do with your eyes closed.

[manarth]

If I were eating a stereotypical British meal – say: meat, potatoes, and peas – I would use the fork as a "shovel" for the peas: guide the peas onto the fork with a knife, then raise and eat from the fork.

I wouldn't switch from a fork to a spoon to eat the peas.

Other vegetables are available. I'm not judging.

[0x3f]

> I would use the fork as a "shovel" for the peas

Well I don't personally mind, but this would be seen as poor form in the sense of the original article. You're 'supposed' to kind of spear them onto the end of the tines using the knife.

Also, with the scoop method, if the peas are hard enough, I would think they're at great risk of rolling around and off the fork. If I were going scoop style, I'd have to mash or at least flatten them a little first to prevent this.

No wonder robotics is hard.

[manarth]

    > "No wonder robotics is hard"

Imagine the furore when AGI realises humans frown on it for its table-manners! :-D

[angry_octet]

You're supposed to mush them onto the back of the fork, not impale them.