Tuesday afternoon, I was mucking around in lab, synthesizing yet another molecule that we all hope will cure cancer. Or at least a rare form of nail fungus. You know, an average afternoon for a chemistry major.

While I waited for my reaction to complete, I glanced at The Daily. Now this was shaking things up. I was intrigued by the front-page article, “Student entrepreneurs say ‘Nuck Forris.'” The article was about budding capitalists Prajwal Ciryam, Alex Leung and Arpan Patel founding NF Booksellers, an online alternative to Norris Bookstore.

First I thought, “Cheaper books! That means more money for beer and shoes!” Then I remembered I don’t like shoes. Or beer.

And then I thought some more. In the article, Ciryam states that the impetus for founding the company is to “get a fair price on books,” as low as half of what Norris charges.

Now far be it from me to defend corporate America. But I don’t think I quite understand the purpose of the venture. Norris actually does not hold a monopoly over textbook sales at Northwestern, contrary to the opinions expressed in the article. Nor are books at Norris so extravagantly overpriced as Ciryam suggests.

Students can buy books from many sources. By planning early enough, you can have Borders special order your texts, and even net a cushy 20 percent discount with your WildCARD. And if you’re lucky, Borders might already stock the books you need — I found six books there for my American literature course.

If you’re too lazy to walk into Evanston, you can find books on the Internet while still perfecting your away messages. Half.com, bn.com, amazon.com, borders.com — the list goes on. If you’re savvy, I don’t have to tell you about allbookstores.com, which will compare textbook prices from various e-booksellers for your one-stop bargaining convenience.

So you would only be forced to buy your books at Norris if your class required a super-rare book, or you’re a lazy bum. Now I’m pretty lazy (and maybe even a bum), so I thought I’d see just how much I’d lose at Norris.

I looked up Atkin’s Physical Chemistry (after all, this was my bedmate for most of last year) on allbookstores.com. The lowest price I found for a new book with standard shipping was $102.24. Compare this to $124 at Norris — a $21.76 difference. And this doesn’t include Norris’ same-day convenience and the freedom from postal service-related headaches. So much for that 50 percent difference.

So I’m not sure what NF Booksellers will offer NU. Nobody would argue against more competition, but it seems to me that Ciryam & Co. were less concerned with righting a real injustice than wrapped up in merely raging against the status quo.

I commend them for taking action instead of just complaining. But rather than trying to prove Norris is cheating us, perhaps Ciryam & Co. should channel their energy into doing something novel — pun intended.

And if I discover that new anti-fungal agent, they’re at the top of my list to market it.