I'm learning the Sugya of pas haba'ah b'kisnin. This seems like an extraordinary area of Halacha, because the beracha on this type of food is entirely subjective, based on what others would be koveah a seudah (what would count as a meal). Also, the Rosh says that young children and elderly people don't need to eat the same amount of food to qualify for meal as say, a middle aged man.
Does this kind of subjectivity exist in any other realm within Halacha?
Answer
Yes: a number of areas of halacha depend on what is usual in the place and time. One I can think off the top of my head is: Some pos'kim have held one can smoke cigarettes or take a hot shower on yom tov because that was shave l'chol nefesh (widely done) at those times and in those places; they would agree that such would be forbidden when smoking and showering are not shave l'chol nefesh. (See the last Beur Halacha on 511 re smoking; probably sources on showering are also on Orach Chayim 511 (though not in the Beur Halacha).)
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