For example, I wouldn’t dream of formulating a rule about cookies that covered the case “you can eat them if they’re the best in the state”
Why?
This seems like a case that is entirely amenable to formalization (and without any great difficulty, either).
If you expect your judgement to be impaired enough that following rigid explicitly stated rules will be better than making judgement calls
“Judgment calls” are not irreducible.
One of the great insights that comes from the informal canon of best practices for GMing TTRPGs (e.g.) is that “rules” and “judgment calls” need not be contrasted with each other; on the contrary, the former can, and often does, assist and improve the latter. In other words, it’s not that following explicitly stated rules is better than making judgment calls, but rather that following explicitly stated rules is how you do better at making judgment calls.
Why?
This seems like a case that is entirely amenable to formalization (and without any great difficulty, either).
“Judgment calls” are not irreducible.
One of the great insights that comes from the informal canon of best practices for GMing TTRPGs (e.g.) is that “rules” and “judgment calls” need not be contrasted with each other; on the contrary, the former can, and often does, assist and improve the latter. In other words, it’s not that following explicitly stated rules is better than making judgment calls, but rather that following explicitly stated rules is how you do better at making judgment calls.