Why does stirring pasta in the first few minutes keep it from sticking better than adding oil?

Answer: Early stirring breaks up surface starch before it can glue strands together

Early stirring breaks up surface starch before it can glue strands together ✓ — Right. The sticky moment comes early, when surface starch hydrates and can glue strands together. Stirring interrupts those contacts while the noodles are still separating. It is low-tech, but it targets the actual sticking window better than oil floating on top.

A longer hard boil keeps the water moving enough to stop strands from bonding — No. A hard boil does not solve the first-minute glue problem by itself. Without movement, hydrated surface starch can still bond neighboring strands. Vigorous boiling can help motion, but deliberate early stirring is the more direct control.

Adding oil forms a slippery coating that keeps every strand apart — No. Oil and water separate, so oil mostly floats while pasta cooks below. If oil coats the noodles at draining, it can make sauce cling worse. The common anti-stick habit misses the early surface-starch problem and may create a new sauce problem later.