Catch 22

"You mean there's a catch?"

"Sure there's a catch", Doc Daneeka replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy."

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own 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.

(Catch 22, Josef Heller, 1961)

Vinte e dois anos e o Ardil 22 segue me perseguindo. Se eu tentar sair alegando que sou louco, quer dizer que eu não sou. Se eu ficar, quer dizer que sou. O que quer dizer que posso sair. Mas se eu resolver sair, quer dizer que não estou louco... vocês entenderam.

Feliz aniversário pra mim.