What do we mean by catch 22 situation and why it is called catch 22 situation.?

Answer 1

Catch-22 is a term, popularized by Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, describing a general situation in which an individual has to accomplish two actions which are mutually dependent on the other action being completed first. A familiar example of this circumstance occurs in the context of job searching. In moving from school to a career, one may encounter a Catch-22 where one cannot get a job without work experience, but one cannot gain experience without a job.

Catch-22 situations are sometimes called vicious circles or the chicken or the egg problems.

Answer 2

Catch-22 is a term, popularized by Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, describing a general situation in which an individual has to accomplish two actions which are mutually dependent on the other action being completed first. A familiar example of this circumstance occurs in the context of job searching. In moving from school to a career, one may encounter a Catch-22 where one cannot get a job without work experience, but one cannot gain experience without a job.
Catch-22 situations are sometimes called vicious circles or the chicken or the egg problems.

If terms of pure logic, Catch-22 can be expressed as: "If A and B then C; If A then not B; If B then not A," In this example, in order to leave, you must be both insane and request to leave. If you're insane, then you can't request to leave. If you request to leave, then you're not insane. Therefore, you can never leave.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't is another kind of Catch-22 situation, in which one is placed into an unfavorable situation no matter what choice one makes. It is representative of an impossible-to-escape, unwinnable situation. As such, it is closer to the original meaning of Catch-22.

A real-life example of this is the situation faced by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in 2006 when it was forced to deal with a major match-fixing scandal in Serie A, the top level of football in that country. Four of the country's most successful clubs were allegedly linked to the scandal. FIGC has the power to relegate any clubs found to have fixed matches. Due to the high profile of the clubs involved, relegating these clubs would cost the league tens of millions of euros, if not more. However, any punishment short of relegation would have caused the league to lose a great deal of credibility. Three of the four formally accused clubs were relegated. Upon appeal, all sanctions were softened, and Milan were even allowed back in Europe's premier competition. Final appeals are pending.

In computer science, a deadlock is a condition whereby two processes are waiting for a particular resource which the other has and will release only after receiving the resource it is waiting for. Thus, the only way the resource will become available for one of the processes is if the other releases it — which neither will do, until it receives the resource that the other has.

For example, suppose Process A has a block of memory, and needs to access a disk drive. Meanwhile, Process B has control of the disk drive, and needs to put its information in memory — specifically, it needs the block of memory Process A controls. Process A will hold onto its block of memory and wait for the disk drive to become available, while Process B will hold onto the disk drive and wait for the memory to become available. Both processes are dependent on the other, thus they will wait for each other forever.

Thus, this situation is a vicious circle (as mentioned earlier) and is a good example of a Catch-22. This type of situation has also been referred to as a deadly embrace. A deadlock is, of course, an undesirable state in a computing system.

Answer 3

Catch-22 is a term, popularized by Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22, describing a general situation in which an individual has to accomplish two actions which are mutually dependent on the other action being completed first. A familiar example of this circumstance occurs in the context of job searching. In moving from school to a career, one may encounter a Catch-22 where one cannot get a job without work experience, but one cannot gain experience without a job.

Catch-22 situations are sometimes called vicious circles or the chicken or the egg problems.

Answer 4

Catch 22 means a no-win situation.

Answer 5

"Catch 22" is a book by Joseph Heller. It takes place in World War II. Catch 22 is an army law that makes it impossible to get out of service. Example: No crazy person can be a solider. But if you tell the doctors that you are crazy that means you are sane enough to want to get out of the war and not crazy. A Catch 22 situation is one where it is impossible to win.

Answer 6

A catch 22 situation is one where,despite something appearing correct or proper, there are arguments against it. It also means that to prove one point you are disproving another. That's the "catch" part, but I don't know where the "22" comes in to it.

Answer 7

The respodants above are correct on the history of the phrase.

In the book, "Catch-22" referred to a fictional Air Force regulation ("Regulation #22"), that dealt with bomber pilots during WWII. In the book, all of regulations and situations have a catch to them, something added that makes the proposals impossible.

Regulation #22 stated that pilots could be excused from flying combat missions if they were mentally insane. All they had to do was submit a request to stop flying combat missions, along with a doctor's diagnoses of insanity.

The problem with this scenario was that, in the book, the Air Force considered concern for one's own wellbeing to be evidence for sanity. Thus, any person asking to be relieved from combat missions proved that he was sane by asking.

Of course, by the same logic, any person who WANTED to fly combat missions, intentionally placing themselves in harms way, must have been insane. As such, per Regulation #22, they could be excused from flying combat missions. All they had to do was submit the request...

You see where this is going? If you haven't read Catch-22, I strongly recommend it. It's a great book.

Answer 8

I read Heller's "Catch 22" in high school. To me the statement "Catch 22" means that you are damned if you do or you are damned if you don't, meaning, you're in a no win situation, and you have to choose between the lesser of evils.

Answer 9

A catch 22 situation is one where you have (usually) two options, and each one of them has a negative consequence... the phrase comes from the title of a book by Joseph Heller.

Answer 10

It's called a catch 22 after the book. A catch 22 is pretty much - damned if you do, damned if you don't. For example in the book, one of the characters is a fighter pilot, and flying war missions is making him insane. If he is insane, he won't have to fly any more, but if he doesn't fly any more, he won't be insane, and he'll have to start flying again.

Get it?