The original bike shed was at the gate of a nuclear power plant.
In the anecdote, the “board” spent its time debating what color to paint it because that was something they understood, as opposed to safety coolant system engineering, for instance.
Given the original anecdote, perhaps it’s less that the thing is not relevant, more that (a) it’s not the critical thing to worry about, and (b) it’s getting discussed because that’s all the decision makers are familiar enough with to debate.
In the anecdote, the “board” spent its time debating what color to paint it because that was something they understood, as opposed to safety coolant system engineering, for instance.
Given the original anecdote, perhaps it’s less that the thing is not relevant, more that (a) it’s not the critical thing to worry about, and (b) it’s getting discussed because that’s all the decision makers are familiar enough with to debate.