the chinese associate noodles with long life and consider it a bad omen when cooked noodles are cut. in some cases, cutting noodles can result in changing the eating experience, as slurping is often encouraged. in other cases where the issue is largely one of practicality, each person can choose to observe/disregard the superstition as they see fit. i will add that disregard can be misinterpreted as disrespect depending on how one goes about it. and i think i’m going to just leave it at that.