My thought would be it's stalling if he wants the same rule explained twice!
I went through a phase when I was three when I decided to fight my mom on things I'd always done without trouble before - buttoning my coat, wearing my seatbelt, things like that. We'd fight for half an hour or more, then she'd suddenly explain it in the right way and I'd say "oh, okay" and never take issue with it again. I get the feeling it was hit-and-miss for her what level of explanation was adult enough for me to accept it without feeling like I was being fobbed off, but not so adult I had trouble grasping the concept of it.
