Think about two starving men. The only food around is a slice of bread. Such a small amount of food -- that's why the two men will struggle so hard to be the one who eats it.
Academics sometimes have nothing to look forward to other than to get the office near the water cooler. And if it looks like that other professor might get that office ... LOOK OUT!!
I get it, thanks for the clarification. I suppose tunnel vision and over specialization in esoteric or (perceived) superfluous fields of endeavor leads to this behavior...not to mention character deficiencies.