Catch22

A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations. The term was coined by Joseph Heller, who used it in his 1961 novel Catch-22. 

An example is: 

In needing experience to get a job..."How can I get any experience until I get a job that gives me experience?" – Brantley Foster in The Secret of My Success.

Catch-22s often result from rules, regulations, or procedures that an individual is subject to, but has no control over, because to fight the rule is to accept it. Another example is a situation in which someone is in need of something that can only be had by not being in need of it (e.g, a bank will never issue someone a loan if they need the money). One connotation of the term is that the creators of the "catch-22" situation have created arbitrary rules in order to justify and conceal their own abuse of power.

 来源于美国作家约瑟夫·海勒创作的长篇小说《第二十二条军规》。

"catch-22 situation"意为本身就有问题、不符合逻辑而难以实现的规则或者进退两难的境地。

书中提到了一个永远无法解决/停止下来的问题。而这条理论可以抽象到很多情景里，人们就把这种情形，统称为第22条军规情节，即英文名为“catch-22 situation”。

《第二十二条军规》小说的英文名字“Catch-22”，已经成为英语中“难以逾越的障碍”或“无法摆脱的困境”的、 自相矛盾的、“坑爹”的、荒谬的、带有欺骗忽悠性质的暗黑规则的代名词。

扩展资料：

书中第二十二条军规详解：

1、只有疯子才能获准免于飞行，但必须由本人提出申请。

这条规则的立足点在于：疯子不能提出申请，以及，如何证明自己疯了。

当一个人一旦提出申请的时候，恰好了证明这个人是一个正常人，而“只有疯子才能获准免于飞行”，那么，这个人无法在疯了的时候提出申请，所以这个人还是在劫难逃，就不能免于飞行。

2、飞行员飞满25架次就能回国。但规定又强调，你必须绝对服从命令，要不就不能回国。

这条规则的立足点在于：上级拥有对规则的解释权。

问题在于“你必须绝对服从命令”，当上级命令凌驾于规则之上时，上级可以不断给飞行员增加飞行次数，而你不得违抗。如此反复，永无休止，永远无法回国。