Sharpen Your Mind: Catch-22

Posted by Jerry Lopper Feb 15, 2007

Catch-22, Joseph Heller's 1961 novel of the same name, is still a popular and well known term, nearly fifty years later, referring to absurd rules and regulations resulting in no-win situations.

Set against the backdrop of World War II, Catch-22, takes it's name from an Air Force regulation stating that a soldier can be exempted from combat missions if he is deemed insane, but if he actually puts in a request for this exemption he is deemed sane enough to serve in the mission.

Interesting trivia: Heller's original title was Catch-18, but he changed to Catch-22 after Leon Uris's novel Mila 18 appeared earlier in 1961.

Source: The Intellectual Devotional, David S. Kidder & Noah D. Oppenheim