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Abilene Paradox
What is Abilene Paradox?
"On a hot afternoon visiting in Coleman, Texas, the family is comfortably playing dominoes on a porch, until the father-in-law suggests that they
take a trip to Abilene [53 miles north] for dinner. The wife says, "Sounds like
a great idea." The husband, despite having reservations because the drive is long and hot, thinks that his preferences must
be out-of-step with the group and says, "Sounds good to me. I just hope your mother wants to go." The mother-in-law then says,
"Of course I want to go. I haven't been to Abilene in a long time."
The drive is hot, dusty, and long. When they
arrive at the cafeteria, the food is as bad. They arrive back home four hours later, exhausted.
One of them dishonestly says, "It was a great trip,
wasn't it." The mother-in-law says that, actually, she would rather have stayed home, but went along since the other three
were so enthusiastic. The husband says, "I wasn't delighted to be doing what we were doing. I only went to satisfy the rest
of you." The wife says, "I just went along to keep you happy. I would have had to be crazy to want to go out in the heat like
that." The father-in-law then says that he only suggested it because he thought the others might be bored.
The group sits back, perplexed that they together decided
to take a trip which none of them wanted. They each would have preferred to sit comfortably, but did not admit to it when
they still had time to enjoy the afternoon."
Could someone please bring back (or
rewrite) the more-detailed version of the story that explains the name?
Here's a re-write of a sort:
It is 104 degrees and the sun is
hammering Coleman, Texas with its merciless heat. Two couples sit on the porch of a house sipping lemonade and watch a fan
with a bent blade pointlessly stirring the hot air to bring them no relief. The younger couple have invited her parents to
visit, now it's so hot that playing dominoes no longer takes their minds from their discomfort. Breaking the rhythm of their
misery, Dad coughs into the stoic, contemplative silence and suggests driving to Abilene to get lunch.
Like automata they drag themselves
into the ancient pickup and drive the 53 scorched miles to Abilene without the benefit of the air-conditioning system that
broke years ago. Lunch is not fun. The food is poor, the beer warm and the service is lifeless. So they return silent, exhausted
by their excursion.
Back on the grumpy porch as afternoon
heat gives way to sweltering, airless night they discover that nobody actually wanted to go to Abilene; everybody thought
that everyone else did...
... and somewhere in the distance,
a wild coyote calls ...
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