Shopping Teams
Shopping Teams
[Three teams are looking at a counter with two cubes on it. Above it all is written in very large letters:] Shopping teams
[Above the first team consisting of two Cueball-like guys is written the following text (the first line written with larger letters):] Bad: Two non-nerds Non-nerd 1: Let's get that one. Non-nerd 2: Okay.
[Above the second team consisting of a Blondie and a Cueball-like guy is written the following text (the first line written with larger letters):] Good: Non-nerd + nerd Blondie non-nerd: Let's get that one. Cueball nerd: Wait, I think that one might be a better deal. Blondie non-nerd: Okay, that one.
[Above the third team consisting of two Cueball-like guys is written the following text (the first line written with larger letters):] Very Bad: Two Nerds Nerd 1: How about that one? Nerd 2: I think the other one might be the better deal... Nerd 1: Hmm, I'm not sure...
[Inside a big arrow pointing straight down:] Two Hours Later
[The two Cueball-like guys are sitting on the floor in front of the counter, both having their laptops open and with lots of paper sheets spread around them, as well as a pen. Blondie from the second team comes in from the right and raises her arms:] Nerd 1: I think our main problem is our unclear definition of value. Blondie non-nerd: That is not your main problem!

Randall is comparing the ways different people look at choosing between similar products. In the first example, which Randall considers "bad," two "non-nerds" look at two products (without a description of any kind) and instantly decide which one they want. In the second example, which is considered "good," one of the two is a nerd , and the other one is a non-nerd. The non-nerd instantly picks one of the products, but the nerd evaluates the two and decides that the other one is better because it's a better deal. In both the first two cases, the pair is able to easily come to a decision.
However, in the third example, two nerds are comparing the two boxes, and both of them overanalyse the various merits and drawbacks on each of the two boxes. They are still there two hours later, unable to reach a clear agreement on which of the two boxes they wish to buy. One nerd comments that their definition of value is unclear, suggesting that the discussion has gone on for so long because they are re-evaluating their definitions over something too trivial. Some might perceive this as typical "nerd" behaviour, overanalysing a problem that is in actual fact quite trivial, such as the decision whether to buy one box or the other virtually identical box. The non-nerd woman from the second situation (or perhaps the store manager in this situation), who has watched the two nerds compare the two products for hours, attempts to put this into perspective by pointing out that an unclear definition of value is not their main problem. The implication is that their real main problem is that they are unable to reach an agreement on something that makes so little difference. Or their problem could be the one described in 1445: Efficiency .
The title text suggests that Randall entered a similar situation attempting to buy an air conditioner with his sysadmin, short for System administrator . The sysadmin is a person in an organization employed to manage the computer system or network, a role that requires technical skills and intelligence. The suggestion here is that a computer programmer, like Randall, put together with a sysadmin, would spend as much attention to detail as the two nerds in the comic, laboring over which of two trivially similar products to buy.
Randall deals with sysadmins again in 705: Devotion to Duty .
[Three teams are looking at a counter with two cubes on it. Above it all is written in very large letters:] Shopping teams
[Above the first team consisting of two Cueball-like guys is written the following text (the first line written with larger letters):] Bad: Two non-nerds Non-nerd 1: Let's get that one. Non-nerd 2: Okay.
[Above the second team consisting of a Blondie and a Cueball-like guy is written the following text (the first line written with larger letters):] Good: Non-nerd + nerd Blondie non-nerd: Let's get that one. Cueball nerd: Wait, I think that one might be a better deal. Blondie non-nerd: Okay, that one.
[Above the third team consisting of two Cueball-like guys is written the following text (the first line written with larger letters):] Very Bad: Two Nerds Nerd 1: How about that one? Nerd 2: I think the other one might be the better deal... Nerd 1: Hmm, I'm not sure...
[Inside a big arrow pointing straight down:] Two Hours Later
[The two Cueball-like guys are sitting on the floor in front of the counter, both having their laptops open and with lots of paper sheets spread around them, as well as a pen. Blondie from the second team comes in from the right and raises her arms:] Nerd 1: I think our main problem is our unclear definition of value. Blondie non-nerd: That is not your main problem!
