"...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 (i.e. heads you win, tails I lose, output is the input...)"Additionally, it was mentioned that "Catch-22" was coined by Joseph Heller in his novel entitled "Catch-22."
Maybe it's not exactly the same, but one interpretation of mine for a Catch-22 is this popular expression by one of the most important figures to come out of the 1990's, Bart Simpson:
"Damned if you do, damned if you don't."Yeah, come to think about it, it's not the same. What the heck.
A reply to the Catch-22? Blog:
ReplyDeletePossibly I can translate your question in my point of view: what are we doing to make UP become more effective at generating options for our country and the world, and UP graduates to enjoy the process. This translation seems to be necessary to focus on the processes that will help UP regain the place at the top which is a by-product. By shifting the focus, we can reorganize our strategy. We can begin by investigating those technologies and solutions that have truly impacted our country and the world in very useful ways and derive from these some common principles that give light to common structures of their successes, then we act by making those principles operational bringing a conducive environment for our actions. We can also investigate those technologies that have not served well and determine the structures of their general processes (how they are conceived, created, brought out for use, etc) so we can avoid our actions leading to them.
What do I mean? A Catch-22 is contextual and contexts are embedded in higher contexts. If it cannot be solved by parallel solutions, then possibly by hierarchical solutions. However, hierarchical solutions need a radical shift in point of views, a "quantum leap"...
Thanks again for your reply. I hope I understood all of them, but for now, all points agreed! Regarding my Catch-22 blog post, I was (close-mindedly?) only thinking of hierarchical solutions that require a "quantum leap." But maybe you would agree, it's not easy. I think it will take a revolution - an intellectual one - for it to happen. Maybe one guy can spark it, but that one guy will have to have a good reach in terms of people. Maybe it's only in my field, but research seems to be misunderstood. People who don't do it think it is unnecessary (and yet they're using the very textbooks that wouldn't have otherwise been written if not for research!). People who do it think what they're doing is enough for as long as they're doing something. I guess that's better than nothing. But still, it's a sad situation. I forgot the exact contents of my Catch-22 blog post, but I guess that's what I was referring to. We have, as a people, this view of research such that we don't do enough of it, and that restricts progress (whether for UP or for the country). At the same time, like for people like myself and I know a few others, I also have that need for being able to feed my family and bring them places, which research alone cannot do for me. So with these things, people like myself are inclined to not do research, or not do it in the Philippines. No research, no progress. No progress (i.e. no funding, no political will, etc.), no research. A Catch-22. But once that radical shift happens, it can only be a snowballing effect (sorry to use a metaphor that cannot be observed in the Philippines). One thing leads to another and then another, and then another. One of my personal aims is to make people understand research. Educating about research, I realized, is really key. Sometimes though, the best way to learn or to teach research it is to just do it.
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