catch22

A Catch-22, coined by Joseph Heller in his novel Catch-22, is a logical paradox arising from a situation in which an individual needs something that can only be acquired by not being in that very situation; therefore, the acquisition of this thing becomes logically impossible. Catch-22s are often spoken with regard to rules, regulations, procedures, or situations in which one has knowledge of being or becoming a victim but has no control over it occurring.

The archetypal Catch-22, as formulated by Heller, involves the case of John Yossarian, a U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier, who wishes to be grounded from combat flight evaluated by the squadron's flight surgeon and then found \"unfit to fly.\" (\"Unfit\" would be any pilot who is actually willing to fly such dangerous missions: as one would have to be mad to want to take on such missions.) But the problem is that to be declared unfit, he must first ask for an evaluation, which is considered as a sufficient proof for being declared sane. These conditions make it impossible to be declared unfit.

The \"Catch-22\" is that \"anyone who wants to get out of combat duty, isn't really crazy\"[1] Hence, pilots who request a mental fitness evaluation are sane, and therefore must fly in combat. At the same time, if an evaluation is not requested by the pilot, he will never receive one (i.e. they can never be found \"insane\"), meaning he must also fly in combat.

Joseph Heller invented the term catch-22 in his novel of the same name. The story is about about World War II soldiers who encounter frustrating situations. For instance, any soldier who is a crazy doesn’t have to fight. All you have to do is ask. But if you’re sane enough to ask, you’re considered sane enough to fight.

More often than not, a catch-22 refers to a situation in which it’s impossible to get the things without having them. Applying for jobs can be a catch-22. You can’t get a job without experience, but you can’t get experience without getting a job.

Therefore, Catch-22 ensures that no pilot can ever be grounded for being insane—even if he were. Real-life examples

Examples of Catch-22 can be found in real life, although none are as hopeless as situations found in the novel. Common examples include the following:

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One cannot get a job in a high-profile occupation without prior experience, but one cannot get experience without getting a job in a high-profile area.

 Until vendors develop applications for Linux, Linux's market share on the desktop will stagnate. But until the market share of Linux on the desktop rises, no vendor will develop applications for Linux.[2]

 One is unlikely to purchase a hydrogen-fueled vehicle without there being a network of hydrogen stations from which to fill up. However, creating a network of hydrogen stations is not viable until there are enough hydrogen vehicles to create the demand.

 Americans in both the living room and the boardroom are growing more fearful about the economy,

creating a Catch-22 for the job market: Shoppers will not spend until they feel more secure (as in, being employed), and businesses will not hire until people start spending.

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A sports team needs good players to be good; but good sports players will not play on a team unless it is good.

 To hike the Appalachian trail you need a job to pay for it, but to hike it you cannot get time off from your job

 A school doesn't have a bike rack but will get one if students ride their bikes to school, but the students don't ride their bikes to school because there is no bike rack.

See also 

List of paradoxes

Situations which have logical similarities to a Catch-22.

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Circular logic False dilemma Irony

No-win situation – real choices exist, but no choice leads to success.

Kobayashi Maru – a scenario involving a choice between death of civilians or of the officers who try to save them.

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Reductio ad absurdum

The Lady, or the Tiger? – a short story involving a princess who must make a decision in a no-win situation.

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Chicken or the egg – a seemingly unbreakable cycle of causation, which has an unknown origin.

Cornelian dilemma – a choice between actions which will all have a detrimental effect on the chooser or on someone they care for.

 Deadlock – in computing, when two processes reach a standstill or impasse, each waiting for the other to finish.

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Double bind – a forced choice between two logically conflicting demands. Hobson's choice – the choice between taking an option and not taking it. Lesser of two evils principle – a choice between two undesirable outcomes.

Necessary Evil – anything which, despite being considered to have undesirable qualities, is preferable to its absence or alternative.

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Morton's Fork – a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives.

Paradox – a statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition.

 Game of Chicken – Two participants desire a positive outcome by taking an action, yet if taken by both the result is devastatingly negative.

 Sophie's Choice – a choice between two equally beloved entities, one of which must be destroyed to preserve the existence of the other.

 The Trial – a novel by Franz Kafka.

 The Captain of Köpenick