This is exactly the phenomenon that gets political extremists elected in moderate districts. Nobody is happy with the outcome (except the extremist) but nobody can see how to prevent it.
I find the naming of this paradox a bit amusing given that it has everything to do with the particular anecdote used to illustrate it and not the phenomenon itself.
I'm not sure I understand this comment.. Are you suggestion the city of Abilene, TX was named from an anecdote? IIRC it was named after Abilene, KA, which was at the other end of a cattle trail connecting the two locations.
