I understand what it means; I'm just curious about its origin.
2006-10-11 16:51:05 · 8 answers · asked by TATAAAAAH 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
"That's some catch, that catch 22."
"It's the best there is!"
It originates from the book by Joseph Heller. In the book, the protagonist Yossarian is in WW2 and desperately wants to get out of danger. He begs Dr. Deneeka to ground him on basis of insanity. One must be insane to be grounded. Anyone who is sane wants to be grounded and therefore must fly the missions, because sane and rational people are needed. However, the insane want to fly the missions and anyone who wants to fly the missions will not be grounded.
Also in the book, Major Major gets promoted and must speak with people inside his new office. He HATES this, so he tells his guard to let people in when he is out and keep them out while he is in. No one is to see him while he is in his office and may only see him when he isnt there. So now, this circle is applied to other such systems of parodoxical logic, as you already know.
Read the book. Catch 22 IS the best there is. You'll laugh your butt off. (I lost 10 pounds!) The movie is OK, but it really does not capture the book as well as it ought to and its loosely based and all that other stuff we book lovers complain about.
2006-10-12 06:42:56 · answer #1 · answered by Es Macht Nichts 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not a rule based on the military by fact, but came from Joseph Heller's book, originally titled Catch 18. It's the self-contradictory circular logic which, for example, prevents anyone from avoiding combat missions. Heller wrote, "There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he [Yossarian] observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed. "
2006-10-11 17:00:35 · answer #2 · answered by O4grace 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
From Joseph Heller's movie "Catch 22"...a military clause in the movie ...based on the premise that no sane air pilot would fly the types of missions that were being carried out, however, if a pilot asked to be grounded, then he was sane enough...basically summing up a situation with no happy ending or resolution. An excellent movie if you can find it.
2006-10-11 17:03:57 · answer #3 · answered by Motochic 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Catch-22 is a 1961 novel by the American author Joseph Heller.
2006-10-11 17:03:09 · answer #4 · answered by Zim 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Catch 22 is the title of a novel by Joseph Heller. A character in the book wants out of the army. The only way out is to be insane. If you know you are insane then you can't posibly be insane; you can never get out of the army, it's called catch22.
2006-10-11 17:02:40 · answer #5 · answered by Wayne 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A book entitled CATCH 22 by Jesoph HELLER!!! a great read and a cool movie
2006-10-11 16:59:53 · answer #6 · answered by f4fanactic 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I only know the book. However I'm unable to get the submit prompt when I ask a question. So I'm using this to ask if anyone can tell me why.
2006-10-11 17:05:02 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Emmitt Smith
2006-10-11 16:58:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋