22 Catch-22s

22 Catch-22s

Thiking about: Mind optimization

William B. Irvine

Nov 02, 2026

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You have likely heard the phrase “catch-22.” You might also have read the novel of that name, written by Joseph Heller. It takes place during World War II, and the main character is U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier John Yossarian. The titular catch-22 involved his efforts to get grounded as insane. The catch was that in order to do so, he needed to

personally request

the required psychiatric evaluation, but since no sane person would want to go on bombing missions, trying to get out of them was proof of his sanity, meaning that he wouldn’t be grounded.

In a catch-22 situation, the nature of a problem deprives you of the means to solve it. A classic example: Because you have locked your keys in the car, you can’t unlock the car to get them. Oh, and locked in with those keys is the cell phone you could use to get help. How frustrating! Here are some other examples:

Because your car won’t start, you can’t drive to the auto-supply store to get the part that would fix it.

Because you have never had a job, you lack the work experience necessary to get a job.

Because you have a fear of public speaking, you won’t engage in the small, friendly audience exercises that would help you overcome that fear.

Because you have lost your glasses, you can’t see to find them.

Because you have succumbed to depression, you lack the motivation and energy necessary to make an appointment for help—and if you do make it, to show up for it.

Because your wifi is down, you can’t go online to troubleshoot the problem.

Because you are lonely, you are so eager to talk to the people you encounter that you scare them away.

Because you lack a credit rating, you can’t get a credit card, the responsible use of which would establish a credit rating.

Because you are choking, you can’t call out for help.

I could continue this list to generate a total of 22 of these catch-22 situations and thereby fulfill the (hopefully catchy) promise made by the title of this essay, but I’m sure you get the idea, so I won’t. Feel free to add your own catch-22 situations in the comments.

I have described

the intellectual spectrum

, with Feelers at one end and Thinkers at the other. Feelers routinely feel their way to conclusions, led by their heart and gut. In contrast, Thinkers, led by their head, engage in evidence-based reasoning to reach their conclusions. As I have explained in these posts, most people fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. They might also be hybrids—Feelers with respect to some subjects and Thinkers with respect to others. Consider, for example, a doctor who is a Thinker with respect to medicine but a Feeler with respect to politics.

In this Substack, I encourage people to think more and better than they currently do, so they can move toward the Thinker end of the intellectual spectrum. Some people, on being exposed to the Thinker concept, are not only quick to comprehend it but are drawn to it. For many people, however, the prospect of becoming an open-minded critical thinker is a hard sell. For one thing, doing so would require lots of thinking on their part. Many people will resist this, the way they resist advice to exercise more than they currently do.

This is only one of the obstacles, however, to transitioning from Feeler to Thinker. The catch-22 phenomenon is another. Because a Feeler is reluctant to think, they will be reluctant to think about what is involved in becoming a Thinker and the advantages of becoming one. Furthermore, because of their exposure to social media, their attention span has likely shrunk.

When I taught critical thinking in the classroom—I have been retired since 2020—I routinely had face-to-face conversations with students who were at the Feeler end of the intellectual spectrum. I would explain that by habitually feeling their way to conclusions, they were likely to become disconnected from reality, perhaps with

disastrous consequences

.

In many such cases, I made little headway. It wasn’t—I hope!—that my argument was weak. The problem was that as Feelers, they didn’t like to think, and as a result were reluctant to invest the intellectual effort necessary to process what I was saying. I suspect that if I were to return to the classroom, the situation would be even more challenging, since students’ capacity for sustained attention would have been

diminished by their exposure to social media

, including TikTok and the like. From the point of view of a Thinker, Feelers resemble someone who has locked their keys and cellphone in their car. They are in a predicament, and the nature of their problem deprives them of the means to solve it.

Catch-22 situations like this aren’t necessarily hopeless. Consider again, for example, the situation in which you have locked your car keys and phone into your car. Smash a window, and your problem will be solved.* Is there a similar “break the glass” solution with respect to Feelers who are unwilling (or is it unable?) to give due consideration to the possibility of moving toward the Thinker end of the intellectual spectrum? I have as yet failed to come up with one. Till I do—

if

I do—I will continue my campaign of connecting with individuals—like yourself, dear reader—who are both willing and able to think more and better.

*It is, to be sure, a costly and potentially dangerous way to proceed—don’t try this at home! It will leave you with a new problem—getting the broken window replaced. But you will have escaped the catch-22. I have, by the way, witnessed the predicament of car keys being locked into a car dealt with in this manner. I suspect that the act in question was triggered by sheer exasperation.

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for my past essays, listed by title.

Want to listen to rather than read an essay? Open it on your mobile device’s Substack app and click on the listen button.

Paid subscribers can also listen to my initial 22 posts on their favorite podcast app, such as Spotify. Open the app, search for “Thinking More and Better,” and add episodes to your playlist. These are the posts in which I explain what is involved in being a Thinker, with a capital T, instead of a Feeler. By listening to them in order, you can, in under two hours, gain a full understanding of the Thinker concept.

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